


ICSTF

by g33



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Action, Adult Content, Angst, Explicit Language, Family, Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:42:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 49,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25163329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/g33/pseuds/g33
Summary: The story whirls around three very different characters:Jungwoo - the loving, humble, liable undergraduate who always has his head in a book and underestimates his own worth;Lucas - the wealthy, determined, threatening and pressing entrepreneur who exploits his boyfriend into doing his sneaky bidding; andJaehyun - the charismatic, fortunate young business competitor to Lucas, who fairly concerns for the people around him, and who forthwith learns something special in Jungwoo.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Jungwoo, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 12
Kudos: 76





	1. You Got Served

Kim Jungwoo lay in bed, waiting for his boyfriend to get off the phone and come join him so they could have sex, as they did most nights, and then go to sleep. It seemed like, for the past three years, their entire relationship had been composed of him waiting on his boyfriend. Lucas was a busy man, and Jungwoo counted himself lucky. There were any number of men and women who would kill for the spot he was in, and a few of them had gone so far as to try. 

Still, he couldn’t help but wish that Lucas would just let his phone die once in a while. In three years, his business had grown to more than just two people. There was an entire building full of employees, assistants, interns and senior staff members now. Surely, just every now and again, one of them could handle a call?

_Don’t be so ungrateful,_ he reminded himself once again. He was the trophy wife in this relationship and he could only be that way because of how dedicated Lucas was to his work. Everything he had, everything he owned, from these silk pajamas to those textbooks laying over there on the desk, was because of Lucas.

“Maybe when he finally gets in here, I’ll show him just how grateful I am,” Jungwoo murmured softly to himself. His long fingers plucking at the soft bedsheets, which lay like captured clouds against his skin. A mirror took up most of the wall on the other side of the room, their compromise since Jungwoo wouldn’t allow Lucas to record them having sex. It wasn’t that he was worried about a scandal, but a smart man made sure that a scandal never even had a chance of existing. He looked at himself in the mirror now, rubbing the stubble on his chin and frowning slightly. It itched terribly but Lucas liked the rugged look on him. 

Speaking of Lucas, he turned his head as he heard footsteps outside in the hallway. His hopes rose but were quickly dashed as he heard his boyfriend raise his voice, shouting into his phone. “I don’t care what you have to do, just get it done!”

There was a brief silence as Lucas gave whoever it was his customary few seconds to respond. Then, “Forget it. Your incompetence is impeding this company’s path to success. You’re fired, Mr. Lee.”

_Mr. Lee. His assistant. Great._

That was the fourth one this year, and it wasn’t even May yet. Lucas went through assistants like popcorn, consuming bowls of them every year. Of course, it always started out so perfectly. Lucas would hire some idealist young guy or girl with secretary experience, touting their worth up and down the entire city… until the moment when he overloaded them to the point that they couldn’t finish their work in a single day. That signaled the beginning of the end, a rapid downward spiral of mood and confidence until they were ultimately fired and replaced. 

But, just like popcorn, Lucas would refill his bowl again in only a few days.

_Maybe a better analogy would be replacing dead fish,_ Jungwoo thought, pondering for a moment as he plucked loose strands from the blankets.

Suddenly, the footsteps down the hallway resumed and Lucas threw the door out of the way as he made his grand entrance. Every entrance he made was a grand one, Jungwoo thought, and not the least because he had a flair for drama and a love for making himself known. Those helped, but an entrance was nothing without the person entering and Lucas… he was something else.

“Everything okay?” he asked softly, watching as Lucas pounded across the room and shed his clothes in the process. He bore an erection, as he usually did whenever he argued with someone.

“Whatever that bastard’s doing, it has to be illegal!” Lucas snarled, climbing up naked into bed. The lights gleamed across his warm skin. He moved like an oil slick, rapid and slithering, and the mattress tilted under his weight.

“What bastard?” Jungwoo asked, although he had an inkling of an idea as to the answer. He held out his arms for Lucas, but the man grabbed his wrists and pinned him down onto his back on the bed while climbing on top of him.

Then, he stilled and looked down at Jungwoo with narrowed eyes, as if just now realizing he’d spoken.

“Your assistant did something illegal?” Jungwoo pressed. 

Lucas shook his head, and the force behind the motion was almost enough to rock the entire room. “No,” he rumbled. “Jung Jaehyun.”

That was exactly what Jungwoo thought; Jung Jaehyun. Lucas would have completely taken over the real estate business in all of Manhattan if not for Jung Jaehyun. Jaehyun was the competition; the one who always seemed to be one step ahead of Lucas. It was as if he had made it his life’s mission to steal every opportunity that he could. At least, that was how Lucas saw it. Jungwoo was on the outside of the business, and he was of the unbiased opinion that the same opportunities one company sought would, of course, be beneficial to another. This wasn’t a matter of personal attacks. It really was just business.

Not that he would ever say so out loud, of course. It was his job to get Lucas to wind down, not to rile him up more.

“What did he do now?” 

Lucas shrugged, growling a little. “What hasn’t he done? It’s all just more of the same, dammit. Somehow, he picked up the same damn client I was going to finish connecting with at the upcoming business meet. I don’t know how, since that client doesn’t deal with startups.”

“Aren’t you a startup too?”

“But I’m better than that bastard. We had the connections to grab that client. As far as I knew, he didn’t. And then suddenly he did. It has to be illegal. He has to be hacking us, or conspiring, or something.”

“Maybe someone in the company is feeding him information,” Jungwoo suggested, although in his opinion that just wasn’t a likely option. He didn’t know a person, stupid or smart, who would risk double-crossing Lucas like that. At least, not if they valued their life.

“That’s what I would have thought too,” Lucas said. The tight, stressed look was fading from his face and he rocked his hips lightly against Jungwoo’s body. “It’s what I did think, months back when all this started to escalate. I fired all suspects, dammit! We put new encryption on everything, all work emails are monitored, we have a camera on every single damn desk. And somehow the bastard is still getting information. Somehow he still knows.”

“So, if it’s not a leak, what could it be?” 

Lucas released his grip on Jungwoo’s hands as he started to rock back and forth with more intensity. Jungwoo held his waist, starting to move with him. “I just don’t know at this point. He’s psychic, apparently.”

Jungwoo let out a soft laugh. “Well, that can’t be it. He’s actually making accurate predictions.” They laughed together, softly. “Anyway, I’m sure you’ll find out what’s going on sooner or later.”

“Hopefully it will be sooner,” Lucas grunted. Suddenly, his body went still and his eyes flashed as he looked down at Jungwoo. The man squinted up at him, a little confused at the intensity of that gaze. It didn’t seem sexual but instead something else entirely. Something calculating, as if Jungwoo was a math problem that needed figuring.

“What’s on your mind?” he asked.

Lucas grunted, the vocal equivalent of shrugging away a helping hand. “Don’t worry about it. I just might have a plan for later is all.”

At that, Lucas started to tug and yank at Jungwoo’s clothes. Jungwoo let him pull the pajamas off, trying not to sound as perplexed as he felt. “Do I get to know later?”

“Oh, you’ll know very soon,” Lucas promised.

_That almost sounds like a threat._

But there was no more time for idle talk, as Lucas leaned down over him and their lips crashed together. Their bodies were familiar with each other after years of intimacy, and they quickly became as one.


	2. Someway Somehow

It was a perfect day in the park, grass rippling in waves right alongside the curve of the river. Green against blue, the color of the world and all within its grasp.

Someday, Jaehyun hoped everything he wanted would be within his grasp. He was content to work his ass off for it, but he did hope it would come eventually. Until then, this wasn’t so bad. Summer heat, cool breeze flowing in from across the river, and ice cream stands every twenty feet. Children flew their kites in the park, tossing frisbees and chasing each other amongst squeals of delight. Adults lounged in the shade of swaying tree branches, sipping beers and chatting with others. A mother breastfed her baby at a picnic table, beneath a blanket; the father sat beside her, the look on his face daring anyone to comment on such a beautiful and natural act. Two old women who should not have been in leggings jogged by, sweat streaming down their faces from beneath the headbands holding their hair up and out of the way. And there were animals everywhere, dogs on leashes and in designer purses, splashing in the river or roaming loose through the grass; squirrels ventured right up to the edge of picnic blankets, and some would even allow themselves to be hand-fed by those who were patient enough to wait for their approach; pigeons and crows took a different approach, of direct frontal assault on anyone who even looked as if they might have food in the near future. 

A good day; a perfect day full of promise for the futures of everyone involved. And, hopefully, for the watchers like him who had to sit in the car and wait for their fate to come to them. 

Jaehyun was waiting for a potential investor. Not a particularly wealthy one, or one whose name was well-known outside of the lower circles of business, but an investor was an investor. What was good for him was going to be good for those who depended on him. He knew that, and he would never miss a chance to make an impression upon someone if he could. Even if he didn’t land this client now, or any other client at any certain time, they would remember his business tactics and speak of him to others, or return again in the future.

A little smile curved on his lips. There was so much more to this line of work than simple advancement. Sometimes to go forward, one had to walk sideways for a time. There were plenty of others in the business who hadn’t figured that out quite yet, and it was only a matter of time before he bypassed them. 

He could wait. He was a patient man.

Well, most of the time.

Jaehyun glanced again at his watch, taking note of the time. His client was three minutes late. It wasn’t a big deal but this was his last scheduled item for the day and he wanted to get it over and done with. 

_Don’t be too impatient, he scolded himself. He could have been held up in traffic. It’s not like New York isn’t busy as hell._

He was good at taking his own advice, unlike some people, and his shoulders instantly relaxed down from their tensed state. A little smile continued to play on his mouth as he leaned on one elbow out of the open window to take in the scents and sounds of the carefree world. So little structure… it was refreshing.

And, okay, maybe he was enjoying the view in a different way. It was a river. A nasty one, but that didn’t stop people from playing in it or taking advantage of its nearness and using it as an excuse to strip down as much as was considered publicly decent. Jaehyun lazily drank in the sights of muscular male bodies, sunlight and shadows playing along the tanned curves of college boys wrestling in the sand on the river’s shoreline. Their legs were toned, lines of muscle bulging as they leaped and ran and chased one another.

If he hadn’t been so tied up at the moment, he would have picked one out amongst their numbers – the one most like himself, probably – and bought him an ice cream, or a cold soda, and engaged him in conversation just long enough for it to be acceptable to then take him somewhere else and pound the living daylights out of his ass. No ties, no mess except the good kind. Summer was built for those sorts of relationships. 

Maybe someone would eventually come along who would capture his interest in a more organic way, but he doubted that would be the case until years down the road. Until then, it was best to enjoy his youth and the ability to explore.

And speaking of enjoying his youth, here came someone wandering down the pathway who was clearly doing the exact opposite. He was tall, gangly young man a few years Jaehyun’s junior. His black hair was tucked under a brown knit cap. That was about all Jaehyun could see of him, protruding over the top of a heavy book in which his face was buried. 

_He’s going to run into someone, or step on a squirrel._

Surprisingly, neither of those happened. The sweet guy navigated around the many pitfalls in his way as though he had an array of parking mirrors glued onto his body, but he just never lifted his face from that book. 

Jaehyun was baffled, and almost a little frightened. He wasn’t much of a reader himself, because who had time for that in this fast-paced technological world? But he also didn’t know many readers in general and this guy was just so into it.

His gaze followed the reading man all the way down to the end of the path, where the sidewalk trailed around into a curve through a small stand of trees. An ice cream cart had been set up just beyond that, and the reading man was obscured by its colorful umbrella.

Slouching back in his seat, Jaehyun let out a little sigh. And saw someone else standing right near his car window, looking a bit impatient.

“Sorry!” Jaehyun exclaimed, leaping up from his seat. At least, he tried to but discovered from the sharp pain lancing across his chest that he was still buckled in. A blush heating up on his cheeks, he fumbled with the buckle, opened the car door and stood. The words that fell from his lips were lost beneath a cacophony of annoying dinging sounds as the car dutifully reminded him that the keys were still in the ignition. Groaning inwardly, Jaehyun grabbed them and then turned to shake his client’s hand – with the hand that was still holding the keys. Embarrassed even more than before, Jaehyun shoved the keys in his pocket and then offered his hand again.” 

“Sorry,” he apologized, tilting his head downward slightly. “I was daydreaming for a bit there and you startled me.” In situations like this, he had long since discovered it was best to be honest.

“Daydreaming, eh?” The client grinned and nodded out toward the park in front of them. “More like admiring the view. Plenty to see today.”

Jaehyun nodded his agreement, although he had an idea that they were both admiring different aspects. He held out his hand, motioning slightly with it to remind his client that it was still there. They shook hands.

“It’s a pleasure to meet with you in person, Mr. Nakamoto,” Jaehyun said.

“And you, Mr. Jung.” Mr. Nakamoto scratched at his chin. “Shall we get on, then? The park isn’t far from my home so I walked, but I haven’t yet eaten today. I know a place…”

Jaehyun nodded, taking the hint. “Let’s get going, then,” he said. “I’m eager to discuss a future partnership with you.”

Being the gentleman that he was, he went around to the passenger side and opened the door for his client. Only when it was done and he was shutting the door after having been given a sidelong glance did he realize that a straight male might consider this an odd thing to do. Well, there was nothing he could do for it now. Hopefully, it would be taken as an overeager quirk.

Jaehyun climbed into the driver’s seat and stuck the key into the ignition, turning the car on and rolling up all the windows. As he started to back out, he asked, “Where to?”

“Just head out of the park and turn right,” Mr. Nakamoto said. His fingers scraped against his chin again and Jaehyun began to realize how annoying that was going to be by the time they were done with this. “And then another right at the fifth light.”

“Got it.”

Jaehyun started off, mulling over this opportunity in the back of his mind again. He felt thrown off of his game, unbalanced, and he didn’t like it. There were only two outcomes to this meeting of theirs: either he would be paying for what was probably going to be an expensive meal and with nothing to show for it, or Mr. Nakamoto was going to generously pick up the tab out of gratefulness for their new connection. Jaehyun would much prefer it be one and not the other, of course.

Suddenly, just before they pulled away from the park entirely, Jaehyun caught a glimpse of something distinctly familiar out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head only slightly, and his eyes widened.

It was the deserted young man from before, his face still buried in that damn book. He sat on a bench now, shoulders shaking with unmistakable amusement. He was caught up in his own little world, clearly enjoying himself like no one else there in the vicinity.

Jaehyun had never seen anything more fascinating. He couldn’t look away.

Suddenly, a hand shot out from his right side and yanked hard on the steering wheel. Jaehyun snapped back to himself, gasping slightly with surprise as he narrowly avoided colliding with the rear of a parked truck. 

Mr. Nakamoto pressed his lips together so that they formed a thin, disapproving line. 

“Sorry,” Jaehyun apologized again. He forced a wavering grin on his face while carefully pulling out into traffic. “Nothing like a little adrenaline before a big meeting, am I right? Really works up the appetite.”

The client gave a half-hearted, noncommittal sort of laugh. Right then, Jaehyun knew that he was only another half of a screw-up away from losing Mr. Nakamoto entirely. The rest of this would have to go flawlessly.

He just hoped that his erection would go down by the time he was required to get out of the car again. Waving one of those around in front of the waiters in a restaurant was probably a bad idea.


	3. It's A Cruel Game

“Lucas?” Jungwoo called out, pausing as he stepped through the front door of their apartment and looking around. Their expensive décor, cluttered but not distasteful, stood exactly as it had been since he left that morning. Nothing had been shifted and there was nothing new out and on display. Clearly, Lucas hadn’t come home yet.

 _Oh, well._ Jungwoo shrugged and moved inside, shutting the door lightly behind him so as not to make a loud noise that would disturb their neighbors. Lucas was a busy man. He tended to be home from work before Jungwoo came home from college, but not always. This was just one of those busy days where things were different. 

His stomach growled and he dropped his backpack, together with what books he carried that wouldn’t fit into it, onto the couch and headed toward the kitchen. If he was hungry, Lucas was probably going to be starving. The least he could do was have a simple meal ready for when he came home. And by simple, he meant a lovingly-made sandwich or an omelet to be refrigerated and then heated up again. It was more special than a frozen pizza, wasn’t it?

Plus, it was the most special thing he could actually do, since he wasn’t much of a cook.

Jungwoo headed over to the fridge while a pan on the stove started to heat up. Gathering up eggs and cheese and sliced ham – he had no idea how long that had been in there but it didn’t smell bad yet and wasn’t green – he started to crack eggs and slice up everything else. He had only just poured the eggs into the pan to an accompanying sizzle when the apartment door banged open hard. He jumped and spun around, heart hammering in his chest.

“Lucas?” he called out, voice quavering. 

“Jungwoo!” Lucas’s voice boomed out, echoing hugely throughout their apartment. Decorative plates rattled on the shelves and Jungwoo had to sigh. He was pretty certain that Lucas had no idea how loud he could be sometimes, or how huge of a presence he commanded. It could be rather disruptive to others.

“Where are you, Jungwoo?”

“I’m in the kitchen,” he called out, stepping away from the stove to stand in the doorway. He didn’t want to leave the omelet or else it would burn and that would defeat the whole purpose. “I was making you some dinner.”

“Look at you, being all domestic.” Lucas dropped his things on the floor, briefcase popping open and papers scattering around his feet as he crossed the living room. He moved into the kitchen, his huge width gently nudging Jungwoo out of the way and back toward the stove where the omelet had begun to puff up. “Thanks, babe.”

“I thought you might be hungry.” Jungwoo started to add the toppings to the omelet and folded it over. The bottom was a bit on the brown side but at least it didn’t split. 

“I am, but I’m more excited than hungry.”

Jungwoo blinked a little and looked up at his boyfriend, surprised to realize that Lucas really did look excited. How often did that happen in the aftermath of his long work days? “Did something go well for you today?” He smiled a little, remembering their conversation from a few days ago. “Did you find out that Jung Jaehyun is hacking you?”

“No,” Lucas practically shouted. “Even better!”

“Better?”

Lucas didn’t answer for a moment. His shoes thumped noisily over the tiled floor, scattering dirt and debris on his journey to the fridge where he slugged back practically half of the carton of milk in a single swallow. Then, he shoved the carton back inside and let the fridge door slam shut again. “Right. Even better. You should take a seat, babe, because you’re going to need it.”

_I don’t think I’m actually going to like whatever this is._

“At least let me finish making your dinner,” he said.

Lucas grunted and moved back into the living room. After fetching a plate and gently sliding the omelet out of the pan, Jungwoo grabbed a fork and headed out after him. Lucas still wore his dirty shoes, having now propped them up on their white ottoman. He held back a sigh as he saw the dirty smudges on its soft surface. Why fill their place with nice things if he was the only one making any effort to maintain it?

“Thanks.” Lucas took the plate from him and had the entire omelet gone in about five seconds. Jungwoo wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or impressed. 

“So, why do I need to be sitting down?”

“Because you are my ace in the hole!”

Lucas beamed, but Jungwoo just shook his head and didn’t understand. “I don’t understand,” he said out loud.

“Of course not.” Lucas tweaked his cheek with enormous fingers. “You’re lucky you’re pretty. And I’m lucky, too. You see, babe, I know you were at the park today.”

He was still mystified, unsure if any of this was supposed to actually make sense to him yet. “Well, yes, I was. I had some time between classes and it was a nice day outside. Uh… were you there?”

“No, no,” Lucas said, still grinning. “Not me, but Jaehyun was. You see, I decided to have someone tail along behind Jaehyun to see what he was up to.”

“You’re having someone stalk him?” Jungwoo gasped.

“Not stalk. Just… conveniently be in the same place. Jaehyun was there at the park meeting with a client…” Lucas made a face, clearly of the opinion that business should be held inside an office “…but before he did, he was looking at someone else: you.”

“Oh…” He didn’t even have any idea what Jaehyun looked like. Was he supposed to have been keeping an eye out for someone he didn’t even know? “Is that a bad thing?”

“No, it’s a very good thing!” Lucas spread his hands. “Jaehyun was clearly interested in you. He watched you until his head nearly fell off! We can use this.”

“We?”

“I have a brilliant idea. Jaehyun has the hots for you, so if you pretend to be interested in him, you’ll get him to spill all his secrets to you. Then, you break his heart and come back to me with everything you learned. It’s brilliant!”

Jungwoo blinked, mulling the words over in his mind as they started to fully sink in. His own boyfriend wanted him to fake a relationship with another man to spy on him? That wasn’t just absurd, it was dirty!

“No way, Lucas! I won’t do that. That’s… that’s awful. Why would you think something like that is okay?”

“Because this is business, babe!” Lucas leaned forward and stared hard into his eyes. “Think about it. It’s not like you’ll really have any feelings for him, and he gets to have a fun time.”

“A fun time?” Jungwoo gaped. “What exactly do you want me to do with this guy?”

“Take him on some dates; get cozy with him! Use your imagination!” Lucas was no longer smiling. An intense grimace spread across his lips to match the seriousness in his gaze. “It isn’t being unfaithful if we decide to do this together, and if you tell me everything you do with him.”

Jungwoo looked down. That made sense, in a backward sort of way. After all, how else did open relationships work for other people? It all had to do with communication. And if this was what his boyfriend wanted…

_Why does this still feel so wrong?_

“This just seems kind of dishonest, Lucas.”

“It’s business!” Lucas insisted. Just like that, he went back to smiling. His eyes glimmered brightly. “But I suspect you’re doing business with me too right now, aren’t you, babe? You want something out of this deal, huh?”

_That’s not…_

Lucas took his hand and patted the back of it. “I’ll buy you anything you want if you do this for me, babe. I’ll buy you anything. You want a new suit? I’ll get you the best. And a back-up suit. One for the wedding and one for the reception!”

Jungwoo gasped. “What? Wedding?”

“That’s right!” Lucas said, beaming. “If you do this for me the way I know you can, I’ll put a ring on that pretty finger of yours. On all ten of your fingers if you want!”

Jungwoo turned his head away slightly, thinking hard. All this time, he’d been waiting and waiting for Lucas to take their relationship to the next step and it seemed like this was the price. They would be engaged, married even, if he did this simple thing.

And it was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? To help his boyfriend beat his rival?

Jungwoo looked in Lucas’s eyes and knew his decision.


	4. That's What I Need, You Know Me

“Are you really sure that this is okay?” Jungwoo asked, as Lucas had his driver park them out in front of the expensive clothing store. He couldn’t even pronounce the name, and couldn’t even begin to guess what language the words might be from. His misgivings, which he had from the start of this, were only becoming that much stronger by the second.

“What?” Lucas said, feigning ignorance as he climbed out of the limo and helped Jungwoo out behind him. 

“This!” He gestured around at the strip, at the high-end restaurants that catered to ridiculous tastes such as caviar doughnuts and gold leaf-infused steak marinades. He didn’t belong here, where the music was a weird blurring of techno and hip-hop that somehow managed to embody only the worst aspects of each. This was a trendy place where everything was priced as though popularity was worth, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with that. This place was where culture came to die, especially because he was beginning to have a dreadful certainty that those words atop the clothing store sign were actually in English. Street English. Internet English, the worst kind of all. Oh, he didn’t belong here. “It’s just so… out of my league.”

“Correct,” Lucas said. With one wave of his hand, he dismissed their driver to go park somewhere nearby where he could pull up again the moment he saw them emerge. “And that’s the point. Business evolves with the time. And at this upcoming party, there are going to be a great deal of new young folks trying to make connections. We have to ensure that you blend in.”

Blend in? The only thing Jungwoo ever blended into was the background, usually with his face hidden by whatever he was reading. He didn’t mingle with any crowd in particular or pay any attention at all to trends because he just didn’t have the right look for it. He hadn’t grown up with this like a lot of other people his age. Dressing like them, acting like them, made him feel like a poser. And they could sense his falseness from a mile away too.

Still, he really wanted to marry Lucas and have all his dreams come true, so he shoved down his misgivings and followed his boyfriend into the dreadful store.

The second he did, he nearly went deaf. Most of the horrible techno music that could be heard all up and down the street was being pumped from a speaker right inside here, and it was almost enough to blow his eardrums out. How did this place still have windows?

It wasn’t just the sound that was a nightmare. It was the colors. Nothing went together, and there was no sense of pattern at all. Everything was unicorn-hideous or tie-dyed, or done in some form of rainbow shading. Everything was too bright, from the fabrics to the lights up above. 

Jungwoo couldn’t see a single thing in here that he would call sensible business wear. Even knowing he would be going to a party soon, he wouldn’t be caught dead in any of this. These were clothes to go to a rave in, or a second-grader’s sleepover birthday party.

“Hi there!” a sudden voice shouted from nowhere. Jungwoo practically jumped out of his skin as a woman strode up to them. She practically had to scream to be heard over the music. “Welcome to…” Even spoken aloud, he still couldn’t understand the name of this place. “Can I help you two find anything in particular?”

“Suits,” Lucas rumbled back, in his normal tone of voice.

The lady nodded and smiled, turning and pointing all the way toward the back of the store. Jungwoo squinted but all he could see was a giant display of shirts covered in emoji faces. “Back in that corner! My name is Parrish! Come find me if you need anything else!”

Lucas thanked her and then grabbed Jungwoo’s arm, pulling him through the maze of thin shirts meant to be layered and hideous shredded jeans. 

Jungwoo pressed up close against his boyfriend’s side and whispered directly into his ear. “This place is horrible.”

“You don’t like dubstep?” Lucas chuckled.

“Dubstep? Is that what this horrible music is called?”

“It’s all the rage with the kids these days,” Lucas replied, still laughing. “Might as well get used to it. Become it. You need to wear the best disguise you can tomorrow!”

Jungwoo stopped in front of the emoji shirt display. He didn’t want to look past these racks, because out of the corner of his eye he was seeing a whole lot of glitter and it was making his stomach hurt. “How do you even know Jung Jaehyun is going to be interested in any of this? Maybe we should call this off until you know more.”

“Ah-ah-ah!” Lucas tutted, waggling one finger teasingly. He leaned in and gave Jungwoo a quick peck on the lips. “The whole point of doing this is so you can find out that information for us, babe. And Jung doesn’t need to be interested in this. You just need to blend in and not look like a spy.”

Jungwoo shook his head. “And what is being here going to do to help with that?”

Lucas grinned and strode past him, deep into the disco-ball of suits. He waded in, snagged something, and immediately waded back out again. “Ever see a spy who would be caught dead in one of these?”

Only under the vaguest of situations could that garment be called a suit. Yes, it had all the proper parts, pants and jacket and optional vest, but it wasn’t black or grey or even white. It was silver, yet shot through with light blue and purple and pink in a terrible imitation of some sort of galaxy and scattering a dust of glitter whenever Lucas waved it around. The buttons were five-pointed stars.

 _My god,_ Jungwoo thought, horrified, _I’m going to look gayer than I ever have in my entire life._

Lucas handed him the outfit to go try on. And, horror of horrors, it fit. It fit almost perfectly, and Parrish gave them the name of a tailor who would bring in some of the errant seams. At least she put it in a black bag, so that the general public couldn’t see his shame when he carried it back out through the doors and onto the street again. 

“You looked adorable,” Lucas said, as the driver pulled back around and opened their doors for them.

“I looked like a sexually-confused five-year-old!”

“If Jung Jaehyun is into that, please let me know.”

Jungwoo gave a short, unamused laugh. At least this part of the horrors was over… but, it seemed, there was more to come. Rather than heading back toward their apartment, the driver took them in the direction of the street that he recognized as being part of the tailor’s address.

“Oh, please, Lucas. Don’t make me put that hideous thing on again!”

“It won’t take very long at all, babe. Don’t worry. And it’ll be worth it in the end, I promise.”

As it turned out, Lucas’s idea of “worth it” was an hour of miniscule stitch work followed by a low-fat ice cream cone from McDonalds on the way home. Jungwoo didn’t share the same sentiment. To him, this whole damn venture would only be worth it when he was finally able to go to bed… with his husband.


	5. Run It Up

Finally, the party. If such events as this could be called that anyway. Jaehyun suspected the term was used in place of “meet and greet” at the urging of someone who wanted to make their life seem as though it was less boring than it actually was. After all, who wouldn’t be jealous of a real estate employee if he went to work-sanctioned parties every other weekend?

The reality was a great deal more like a disappointing prom, or an even more disappointing night at a bar. The purpose was to make a connection with others, whether that was clients connecting with a company, or potential employees testing the waters by being in direct contact with company bosses. Jaehyun saw accountants and bank managers and talent agents in the crowd as well, all of them keeping a sharp eye out for anything at all that might pique their interest. Typically, that only happened at certain times of the year when fresh graduates flooded the waters and were immediately picked off by the hungry sharks, but an occasional straggler might wander in otherwise. 

Why, then, did so many people show up time after time when they knew they would only face disappointment?

For many, it was the free booze and catering provided by the company that hosted the party.

For Jaehyun, it was the price of keeping up appearances. Business folk were remarkably temperamental. If it seemed as though he was losing interest in making public appearances, the assumption would either be that he had given up or was becoming too big for his britches. Neither one was what he wanted, especially after losing out on a partnership with Mr. Nakamoto the other day, so here he was again as though he had nothing better to do with his time but watch his peers drink themselves into oblivion. 

He himself never usually had more than a cup or two of beer, although he carried the drink around with him the whole time as a sort of prop. He was one of them. He was Jung Jaehyun, rival and friend and occasional funny guy.

And mortal enemy, to some.

He stayed on the outskirts of the meeting area, which was a rented party room longer than it was wide. There were tables decked out with morsels of food, and an array of wine bottles and kegs, which would all be half-empty at this time of night. Most of the chatter had gone quiet as topics were thoroughly worn out, except for an occasional burst of drunken exclamation. Jaehyun ignored most of it, preferring to keep to himself at the corner. Unless, of course, someone walked by. Then, like any good company manager, he engaged them in a rousing conversation for a dutiful length of time.

It was routine, simple, and incredibly boring.

And then, the routine was blown out of the water by a glimpse of something he hadn’t even known existed in such a sensible world as this one. How he had gone this whole night without noticing that eyesore, he had no idea. But it was there now, and he couldn’t look away. His eyes were glued.

Glitter-glued, that was.

It was a walking disco ball in the shape of a young man, a lanky fellow who moved as though he wasn’t used to owning a piece of clothing that was tailored to his exact measurements. The garment clearly made him uncomfortably in some places and sag in others. And the color of that ugly suit… It looked like an art gallery had vomited; like a bad piece of modern painting spewed from the depths of some glimmering hell.

_Who in the hell…_

He was smiling. He could hardly believe what he was seeing, and the smile curving on his lips was, as a result, born more of confusion than amusement. Amidst these business and business-casuals, there was a unicorn.

_Okay._ Jaehyun straightened up. _I have to go meet this guy._

Oddly enough, no one else seemed terribly interested in the unicorn in their midst. They’d probably been seeing him all night and grown used to the sight, which still begged the question of how Jaehyun missed him when the lights were literally shining on this guy. Oh, well. He had probably convinced himself so thoroughly that there was nothing to be seen, that he literally hadn’t seen.

Clutching at his cup, he skirted around the edge of the wall and down the next to reach the unicorn where he sat as inconspicuously as possible in the shadow of an ornamental Ficus. 

The unicorn had his face buried in a wine listing, with a meticulous shock of dapper black hair swept-behind. The sight was so incredibly familiar that realization slapped him across the face like a bolt of lightning.

_I’ve seen you before. At the park. You were reading there, too! It’s you!_

Before Jaehyun could stop himself, excitement lurched up in his throat and he practically threw himself down at the other man’s table. The other man jumped, startled, slapping the drink listing down on the table while wildly looking around.

“Oh!” he said, and his voice was deep, thickly, but a bit weak. “Oh. Uh… hello.”

“Hello to you,” Jaehyun said, and stuck out his hand across the table. “My name is Jaehyun. Jung Jaehyun. I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before?”

The unicorn swallowed hard, clearly nervous. His grip was as weak as his voice. “I know who you are. Everyone knows who Jung Jaehyun is.”

“Do they?” Jaehyun said, pleased as a peach. Compliments were something for which he always had a craving, only now it seemed as though this glittering unicorn didn’t realize he’d been flattering at all. “Well, I guess that’s the best I can ask for, huh? Can I ask who you are?”

“Oh… uh… Jungwoo.”

Quickly, Jaehyun ran through a mental checklist of all the people he knew but the name wasn’t familiar. “Jungwoo who?”

“Jungwoo None-of-your-business,” Jungwoo snapped.

Jaehyun held up his hands, leaning back slightly. “Whoa, there. A bit high-strung, huh?”

_Shying away like a little horse._

Jungwoo suddenly sighed and plucked at his suit, scattering puffs of glitter across the tablecloth as he did so. “Sorry. This is my first time at one of these and I’m kind of nervous.”

“I can tell you’re new,” Jaehyun said. He really couldn’t take his eyes off that suit. And he really didn’t want to be caught staring, or laughing, but damn. A smile curled up on his lips again anyway. “That’s a pretty unique get-up you’ve got on.”

Jungwoo scowled, crossing his arms and pouting like an offended child. “I was invited here by someone and they made me wear this ugly thing. I really don’t know why.”

His tone of voice said that he knew exactly why, and Jaehyun did too. It wasn’t uncommon for people here to invite their children or significant others along, to help scope out information or simply to keep them company. Clearly someone had gone in the opposite direction and turned this poor man into a unicorn as a distraction.

And despite his unicorn-ish nature, and the fact that already some of that glitter was starting to appear on his own suit, Jaehyun still felt that same instantaneous attraction and fascination with this young man as he did when he first saw him at the park. And now that they were closer together, he could see even more. 

Jungwoo’s eyes were as dark as his hair, clean-shaven jawline that arrowed into a pointed chin. He looked genuine and studious. Other than his boyishly handsome face, the unicorn was in possession of a slender body with actually really broad shoulder. He was not frail, but certainly delicate.

“So, how have you liked your first time? A bit boring, isn’t it?”

Jungwoo glanced away slightly, his blush darkening a tad in coloration. 

_What? Oh. First time? He’s shy._

Shy and cute. 

“I guess so,” Jungwoo answered. “It… uh… hasn’t been really what I was expecting, you know. I thought there would be a lot more discussion.”

Jaehyun picked up the drink menu so that Jungwoo would stop looking at it, and he toyed with it in his hands. “There is earlier in the night. You might have missed that though, since it tends to die out pretty quickly. But, tonight just isn’t a really good night for it. You should come again a few more times. I’m sure you’ll get to see some more action and it might be a bit more exciting.”

Jungwoo glanced down at the menu Jaehyun held, looking as though he was on the verge of snatching it away so that he could hide his face behind it again. Jaehyun had no intention of letting him do that, however. He liked actually being able to fully see who he spoke to. “I don’t know if I will be coming back though. I think I have all I needed.”

“I’m not sure how you were able to spy on anyone,” Jaehyun chuckled. “Not dressed like that.”

Jungwoo reddened again, mouth opening and closing a few times as he searched for something to throw back. At last finding none, he glanced down at his hands and lapsed into silence.

Silence wasn’t something Jaehyun was going to stand for. He gestured with the wine listing. “Want anything to drink? I’m certain something must be left.”

“I’m not much of a drinker. Dessert wine is about the strongest I get.”

“Sweet tooth?”

“More like a sensitive stomach,” Jungwoo quipped back. “I wish I was able to handle more. They say red wine is good for your health.”

“They say the same about dark chocolate,” Jaehyun replied. Despite himself, his interest sharpened. “Do you know much about wine, even though you don’t drink?”

_I might be playing with something dangerous here._

Luckily, it seemed as though Jungwoo didn’t have the tragic past that Jaehyun feared. The beginnings of a slight smile played on his lips, lighting up his whole face. It was fascinating to see, truly. “Well, I read a lot. I also just like to know things.”

“To impress others, no doubt.” Jaehyun nodded, he could relate.

But Jungwoo shook his head. “No, no. I don’t ever really have anyone to talk to about some of these things. And why would I? It’s boring. People don’t want to know that experts can’t tell the difference between aged wine and the stuff in a bag. They don’t want to think about people stepping on grapes with their sweaty feet. And why should they? I like to know just to know.”

“Fascinating,” Jaehyun whispered.

If anything, Jungwoos blush only deepened. He stood up abruptly, pushing his chair beneath the table. “I think I should go. It’s late.”

Jaehyun narrowed his gaze in on the delicate V-shaped patch between Jungwoo’s legs, accented by the sharp cut of that ridiculous suit. Then, as Jungwoo lurched around to hurry away, he was treated to a mouth-watering eyeful of supple, round ass that strained at the fabric.

“Wait,” he said and stood to hurry after the other man. He noticed with some amusement that there was a trail of glitter across the floor. “Jungwoo, hold on a moment.”

Jungwoo did, his back stiffening as Jaehyun approached. With a bit of surprise, Jaehyun noticed that his height was towering him. It was all that drooping and folding in on himself that made Jungwoo seem shorter. “What is it?”

“Here, take…” Jaehyun shoved his hand into his breast pocket and brought out his business card. The design was slick and perfect, commissioned by a local artist, but all at once it seemed simply inadequate. He flipped it over to the back and jotted down his personal cell number in the corner with a pen he always carried hooked onto the same pocket that held the cards. That done, he held it out to Jungwoo. “Call me sometime, why don’t you?”

The other man didn’t say a word, but he did accept the card before leaving as though a pack of wolves nipped at his heels. Jaehyun craned his head as he had done that day at the park, wishing he could see where Jungwoo was headed, but at that moment a voice called out his name from behind. Grimacing and then smiling as he turned around, Jaehyun put his back to the fleeing man and focused on the reason why he was there at the party in the first place.

_I really hope he calls._


	6. I Don't Understand

Jungwoo hurried away from the party, glad for the cooled night wind blowing on his red face. He could hardly believe what he’d just done. It was absolutely humiliating to have to do that, and the whole time all he could think about was how disloyal it felt. 

The business card in his pocket practically burned him through the fabric of his shirt. He was far too aware of it, and also of the fact that he had managed to get absolutely no other information about Jung Jaehyun. Was this night a success or a failure then?

“Mr. Kim!”

Jungwoo spun around to his left, catching a glimpse of a man in a hat waving at him from behind a car. Lucas’s company car, to be exact. Which meant that the man was his driver, and Jungwoo’s way home. 

He hurried over to the car and dove into the passenger seat. “Let’s go home right away,” he said.

The driver nodded. Jungwoo suddenly realized that he didn’t even know the man’s name. “As you wish,” the driver said, putting the car into drive and carefully pulling away from the parking lot. “Are you sure you don’t want to stop along the way somewhere? No ice cream?”

_Ice cream is my weakness. I should want it._

However, his stomach just felt knotted with tension. “Maybe next time.”

“I hope so.”

That was surprising. Jungwoo glanced over at the other man, harsh orange lights passing over their faces to briefly illuminate the interior of the vehicle. “You do?”

The driver let out a low chuckle, coming to a gentle stop as the streetlight turned from yellow to red. “Of course, I do. I made driving my career. It’s soothing to me.”

“Huh.” He hadn’t thought of it in that way before. “It’s just stressful to me. I can’t imagine doing that as my career, and definitely not in one of the busiest cities in America.”

“Oh, you get used to it. You can get used to anything if you can find a pattern.”

_I just got the number of my boyfriend’s arch nemesis and now his driver is talking to me like some sort of monk. What sort of weird night is this?_

He didn’t say anything else through the long rest of the drive home, and the driver didn’t seem particularly inclined to talk. Back at the apartment building, he headed up the elevator and down the hall to their apartment. He opened the door with his key and stepped inside, eagerly shedding the vest and tossing it on the couch. An enormous puff of glitter made him almost immediately regret the action, but there would be time to clean it up tomorrow. Why not just continue to make a mess, then? With that in mind, he felt liberated enough to toss the rest of his clothes onto the couch until he was standing there in only his underwear… which was also covered in glitter.

He had his thumbs under the waistband and was tugging them down over his hips when the door suddenly crashed open hard against the wall. 

“Dammit, Lucas!” he swore, spinning around to face his boyfriend. He planted his glittery hands on his hips, glaring. 

Lucas grinned at him, slamming the door behind him and stepping forward to plant his hands on Jungwoo’s hips, covering his own hands. “How’d you know this is what I wanted?” he purred.

Jungwoo swatted his hands away, still glaring. “That was the most humiliating night I’ve ever had.”

“But hopefully a useful one, right, babe? Tell me what you got.”

Frowning, Jungwoo went over to the couch and picked up his suit jacket to fumble around in the pocket.

“You really should have hung those up, babe. They’ll get ruined like that.”

“If we had matches here, I would have set it on fire,” Jungwoo grumbled and handed over the business card. “That’s his personal number.”

Lucas looked pleased, which was surprising. Jungwoo thought he would be furious that he hadn’t managed to get more. “Good! Now you can call him and ask him out on a date.”

Jungwoo’s heart sank. “Do I really have to?”

“Yes!” Lucas spread his hands, eyes glowing. “And you have to do it quickly before he loses interest, while you’re still fresh in his mind. But not too quickly, or else you’ll seem too eager. You’ll get it figured out, I’m sure.”

Lucas patted his ass and then headed past him in the direction of the bedroom, but not before suggestively wiggling his eyebrows. Even though he didn’t want sex, Jungwoo sighed and followed along anyway. He’d hoped to be done with all of this strategy and guessing stuff when he graduated from high school, and especially once he’d entered into a committed relationship; however, everything was all right back at that quintessential stage of awkwardness and uncertainty. Clearly, some things never changed.


	7. I'm The Boss

Jaehyun looked out the window of his office building and sighed. Another beautiful day, only this time he wasn’t even anywhere he could vicariously appreciate it through the actions of others. While it wasn’t exactly the Empire State Building, it was three stories of pure business and that meant his office windows didn’t open and the walls were soundproofed. All he could see were the overheated sides of other buildings, gleaming hotly in the sun, and a rainbow stream of cars passing slowly through the crowded streets. No children playing, no cool wind and no attractive bodies.

Letting out another sigh, he turned away from the window and looked down at the desk blotter calendar before him. Every single day had several events listed, and that wasn’t including his personal calendar that listed his daily schedule. He had five minutes before his next meeting and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. He felt like he might go insane, trapped and motionless behind these steel walls.

Suddenly, his pocket buzzed. His right pocket, the one that held his personal cell, and not the left with his business cell. At any other time, he would have ignored the call but he couldn’t help but to remember the last person he gave his number to. Hoping against hope, he grabbed the cell from his pocket and answered it.

“Hello? Jung Jaehyun speaking.”

“Uh…”

Jaehyun closed his eyes, relieved that he’d answered. Even after hearing that voice only once, he would have known the sound anywhere. Words rose up in his throat but he held them back, knowing better than to talk over the quieter man. 

“Hi, Jaehyun,” Jungwoo said. “Uh… are you busy?”

Jaehyun glanced at the clock again. “I have a few minutes before my next appointment. Did you need something?”

“I… uh… just wanted to ask if you were busy tonight. Or… um… maybe tomorrow. I just… uh…”

He held back a chuckle. “Let me check something, okay?”

“Sure.”

He looked down at the desk blotter, but what he saw didn’t please him. And a look at his schedule for the next few days was equally disappointing. Of course, he’d made that schedule on his own but he hadn’t planned on wanting to do anything else. Then, he straightened up and shook his head. He was the boss here. Jung Real Estate belonged to him and he could do with it whatever he wanted, no matter the advice against it.

“I’m not free tonight but I can definitely do dinner or something tomorrow. Listen, I have to go so why don’t I text you the details tonight? Or… early tomorrow morning, depending on when I…”

_When I can get my secretary to reschedule all those appointments for me._

He never got to finish what he was saying because, just then, Jungwoo interrupted him. “That sounds good to me. No rush. I’d best let you go. Talk soon.”

An abrupt click told him that he’d been hung up on.

Jaehyun sighed and dropped his head into his hands, wondering how he was meant to go about having a business and a personal life. Really, he hadn’t planned on anything personal with anyone, but Jungwoo was different somehow. Jungwoo was an intellect. Attractive too, but more than just a person to bang and part ways with half an hour later.

_Well, I guess I’ll have to play things by ear for a bit, but now I can start planning out a schedule that includes time for dating._

If, that was, they were at all compatible. Jaehyun had a feeling that Jungwoo was going to be one tough nut to crack. He seemed like the private sort.

“Maybe I should read a book or two,” he muttered.

His office door opened and his secretary poked her head in through the door with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. “I suggest you start with your calendar because you’re supposed to be in the meeting room right about now.”

“Dammit,” he swore, pushing up from his chair. “Why didn’t you remind me sooner?”

She didn’t say anything, only moved back out of the doorway and held the door wide open for him. Only when he passed did she mutter under her breath, “Not only did you tell me to quit rushing you, you also instructed me to never interrupt you while you were on the phone.”

Jaehyun sighed. “How many other conflicting things have I told you?”

“Basically everything, Mr. Jung,” she said, handing him a stack of papers that he was obviously supposed to have prepared for himself. “But don’t worry. It’s my job to keep your job under control.”

_Well, pretty soon I’m going to need you to help me keep my personal life under check too. Hope you’re up for that._


	8. Never Messing Up The Flow

Jungwoo had never been to a restaurant where wearing a suit was a requirement. Even standing out on the street and looking in the large windows was intimidating. The décor was somewhat cluttered, as was normal for a tavern, but clearly expensive and placed in just such a way as to make use of every inch of cluttered space. The lights were bright, illuminating Gramercy Tavern’s split dining area and bar. 

Jungwoo clutched at his jacket cuff, eyes sliding across what he could see of the patrons within. They were businessmen and professionals, the lot of them, who wore their outfits like a second skin. And here he was, clearly out of his league.

_At least Lucas was serious this time when we went shopping._

As much as it was difficult for him to imagine a dining establishment with a dress code, he found it surprisingly easy to imagine being kicked out of one if he wore that ridiculous silver costume. The suit he wore now was dark grey, nearly black, and still just a bit too form-fitting.

Managing to tear his eyes away from the Tavern’s front, he scanned the bustling streets in search of Jaehyun. This was where they were supposed to meet for a late dinner and, although the sky looked quite nice at dusk, Jungwoo was very aware of the fact that he was a sitting duck if someone tried to mug him.

Suddenly, something hard pressed lightly against his back. He stiffened. 

“Give me all your money,” a familiar voice murmured. Hot breath rolled against his ear.

Scowling, Jungwoo wheeled around and glared at Jaehyun. The company manager was grinning, clearly pleased with himself, but as the look on Jungwoo’s face registered, he slowly held up his hands between them. “Okay, okay. Peace, alright? Don’t kill me.”

“Don’t scare me like that!” Jungwoo snapped, anger getting the better of him and pushing his fear away. “It’s not nice.”

Jaehyun blinked a little, a slow look of contemplation crossing his face. It occurred to Jungwoo that he hadn’t ever looked so long and hard at the other man until now. It was easy enough, with the bright lights spilling through the restaurant windows. He was tall, lean, smooth pale skin that stretched over high cheekbones and a lush mouth. While muscular, he was almost near Lucas’s level of athleticism.

Then, Jaehyun nodded as if agreeing with something that had been said aloud. He leaned over and grabbed Jungwoo’s hand, pressing the back of it to his lips. “You’re right. It wasn’t nice and I apologize. Do you still want to have dinner with me?”

Jungwoo glared at him for a moment but he couldn’t hold onto his anger any longer. No one ever kissed his hand like that before. It was a romantic gesture, and Lucas was a bit lacking in that area. 

“No,” he said, “but I do want to have dinner because I’m hungry.”

He hadn’t eaten all day due to nervousness but now it seemed like a lot of that had been due to anticipation. He was starving, and he had a wallet full of money that Lucas gave him as an allowance. Well, it was more than he was usually given as his allowance due to the fact that these were extenuating circumstances. He was expected to spend some of it on Jaehyun to get on his good side. And if that didn’t work… he had been given permission to do whatever it would take.

Jungwoo would call the whole thing off before he let it get that far.

Jaehyun didn’t look the least bit put out by the jab thrown in his direction. If anything, his grin seemed to spread. He relinquished his grip on Jungwoo’s hand and moved off towards the Tavern. “You’re going to like this place a lot. Very top of the line.”

“My definition of top of the line is usually a frozen pizza with a brand name on it.”

“Ha!” Jaehyun glanced back over at him. “You’re a pizza guy then. I’ll have to remember that.”

Jungwoo couldn’t help but to smile a little. Jung Jaehyun was so well dressed, and his suit fit him like he was born wearing it, but he sounded like a little kid hanging around his first crush and trying to do everything exactly right. It was almost endearing, and not at all what he’d been expecting.

“Getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren’t you? Thinking that we’re already going to have a second date.”

“A guy can dream,” Jaehyun tossed back over his shoulder. He held open the restaurant door, another surprising gesture and one that Jungwoo would have appreciated more if he hadn’t been so intimidated by the new surroundings.

A hostess standing just inside the doorway smiled at him. “Hello, sir. Just one?”

“Two, actually,” Jaehyun said, coming up behind Jungwoo like a savior. “Reservation for Jung in the private dining area?”

“Of course, Mr. Jung, sir. Just one moment.”

She turned around to the counter just behind her and riffled through a book there for a moment before nodding to herself. Turning back around, two menus had magically appeared in her hands. “If you two gentlemen will follow me?”

Jungwoo kept quiet as they were led back to a darkened area petitioned off from the rest of the restaurant. He held his tongue as they were seated at the table and as glasses of water were poured. Specials were explained, although he couldn’t understand half the words. Then their hostess took a step back and said, “And your server will be with you shortly. Thank you for dining with us tonight.”

And he could hold his curiosity back no longer. “How did you manage to get a reservation for the next day in a place like this?”

Jaehyun took a sip of his water. Jungwoo’s gaze went to his lips and the way they pressed against the delicate rim of the glass. “I guess you’re relaxing if you can ask such a forward question, aren’t you?”

His shoulders tensed up, and his cheeks started to flood with heat. “Oh… was that forward? I’m sorry.”

He was rewarded with a soft chuckle, although he didn’t entirely know what that meant.

“Look,” Jaehyun said, “we’re both adults here. And if we’re interested in each other, I don’t think there’s anything that either one of us has a reason to hide. You can ask me anything you want, Jungwoo. I’ll answer the best I can.”

Jungwoo hesitated, but wasn’t this exactly the sort of opening he was supposed to be looking for? “How did you get a reservation so fast?”

“Money,” Jaehyun replied, simply and drily. 

“Uh… oh.”

Jaehyun’s eyes danced with amusement and he laughed, revealing two dimples. Adorable. “Not really.”

“Oh.”

Another sip of water. Jungwoo watched his date’s Adam’s apple bob slowly in his throat. 

“It just so happens that I know they’re looking to upscale and relocate, or otherwise open a new location. I offered them a deal in the future if they got me in here tonight.”

Jungwoo was aghast. “You did that just to go on a date with me? That’s… that’s just absurd.”

“Is it?” Jaehyun shrugged. “A five percent discount really isn’t that much of a difference, and besides. What’s life without a little whimsy once in a while?”

Just then, they were interrupted by a young man in a waiter’s uniform. He smiled at both of them in turn, bowing his head slightly. “Good evening, sirs. My name is Mark and I will be your server for the night. If there is anything you need at all, don’t hesitate to ask. Might I start you off with something to drink?”

Jaehyun glanced at Jungwoo, who just shook his head. “I’ll just stick to water, actually.”

“As you wish.”

“Hold it,” Jaehyun said. “You can have water any other day of the week. Go a little crazy with me tonight. Have a glass of wine or two.”

_I’m still not much of a drinker…_

But with those rich dark eyes watching him how could he refuse? So, he relented. Jaehyun brightened and ordered them two different glasses of wine, the names of which Jungwoo didn’t know. Mark the waiter nodded and left them again as they were, but returned quickly enough with a bottle and two chilled glasses.

One of the wines was red, and the other was white. Jungwoo eyed them with equal skepticism. Their sharp scent wasn’t exactly pleasing; he was even less pleased when Jaehyun moved the glass of red wine over in front of him. 

“Isn’t red supposed to be stronger?”

“Well, just try it. You might like it anyway.”

_I doubt it._

He was very aware of Jaehyun’s eyes on him as he lifted the glass up to his lips. The scent was overpowering, and the bite of it on his tongue almost made him gag. Struggling, he swallowed the tiny sip and then looked over at Jaehyun with watering eyes.

“Uh… Nope. Still don’t like it.”

Jaehyun laughed. “Alright. Good try, though. No backwash?”

“Gross, no!”

“Then here, let’s switch. See if you like this better. It’s dryer.”

And dry it was, as dry as a liquid could be. It was like licking liquid nitrogen. Jungwoo felt his face screw up into a grimace, words caught between his puckered lips. Shaking his head, unable to speak, he put the glass down.

Jaehyun kept laughing. “You really aren’t a wine guy, are you? Mark, do you mind coming over here?”

Although Jungwoo hadn’t noticed their waiter hanging around, he appeared as if from the shadows. “Yes, sir?”

Jaehyun gestured to their glasses of wine. “These are both very fine, but my friend here isn’t much of a drinker. I apologize for that. Is there anything sweeter? A dessert wine, maybe?”

“Of course!” Mark said. “Let me take these other ones out of your way.”

“No need,” Jaehyun replied. “I’ll drink them both so there’s no need for it to be wasted. Just something lighter for my friend, please.”

“As you wish.”

Jungwoo looked down at his hands, feeling a little frustrated. “There wasn’t any need for that, you know. I could have just drank water. No need to make a fuss.”

Jaehyun gave him an odd look while moving both wine glasses over to his side of the table. “A fuss? Jungwoo, this is his job. It’s what he does. Asking a question or wanting something else is what you’re meant to be doing at a restaurant, so you can enjoy the experience better. You weren’t making a fuss at all.”

“I guess I really just haven’t been in a restaurant like this before. It’s a whole lot different from a Steak ‘n’ Shake.”

Jaehyun smiled and reached across the table to pat the back of his hand. His touch was warm and strangely inviting. “That it is. Maybe if you’ll let me have that second date, we can just order a pizza and hang out somewhere. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

He couldn’t hide the surprise in his expression, mirrored in Jaehyun’s watchful eyes. This was the callous hacker who was Lucas’s arch nemesis? The mysterious man who Lucas talked about as if he was some sort of hell-spawn who would be nothing but rude and cheap. Well, he definitely wasn’t cheap if these menu prices were anything to go by, and he had been anything but rude. In fact, Jungwoo dared to think that he might have been fed the entirely wrong impression about this other man. He was being sensitive in a way that Lucas never was.

_That doesn’t make him a good person. It doesn’t mean anything. Lucas loves me. I’m just here to get information._

“But,” Jaehyun continued, “I think you’d have a better time if you went a little bit outside your comfort zone sometimes. And where better to start with food?”

“I just…”

“Please.” Jaehyun shook his head and removed his hand as their waiter came back over with a different bottle of wine to pour. “If you don’t feel comfortable with something, just ask me to do it. I’m the owner of a company, for goodness sake! I do uncomfortable things all the time.”

Jungwoo dared to smile. He was here to collect information but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy himself, right? “Okay. I guess I can do that.”

“Good!” Jaehyun beamed at him, his eyes lighting up. The beginnings of crow’s feet wrinkled up at the corners of his smiling eyes. “Mark, I think we’ll start off with an appetizer. Actually, can we get two, for the sake of sampling? The duck liver mousse and Arctic Char tartare.”

“Of course, sir. Let me just go put that order in for you.”

Jungwoo made a face. “I’m going to hate both of those.”

“Well, we just won’t order anything with those in it for the rest of dinner,” Jaehyun chuckled. “So then, tell me more about you. Who is No-Surname Jungwoo?”

“A college student.” Jungwoo shrugged a little. “Like half of the general population.”

Jaehyun leaned forward on his elbows. “What are you majoring in?”

“Contemporary Literature,” he replied. “I like to read, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“I’m pretty sure I picked up on that. Are you minoring in anything?”

“I am,” Jungwoo said, a little surprised at how easily the conversation was coming. His apprehension had melted away entirely with Jaehyun’s earlier reassurances, and now he felt completely at peace. For the first time, he noticed the soft music being pumped through hidden speakers somewhere in the restaurant. The background sounds of other diners were a perfect bit of ambiance, not at all disruptive. “Business, actually.”

“Really?” Jaehyun straightened up, smiling teasingly. “Maybe I should hire you on to my company.”

“Uh…”

“It was just a joke, honey. Try a sip of your new wine.”

Frowning, Jungwoo looked at the glass at his elbow. He couldn’t smell the wine from here, but he didn’t know whether that was a good thing or not. Picking it up, he brought it up to his lips and took a sip. The taste of alcohol was still sharp and prominent, but now it was mellowed by a sour sweetness.

“Oh,” he said, surprised. “That’s good.”

“Good! I’m glad you liked it. And now you can try something else new.”

Their waiter approached again, setting down an array of small plates that all contained miniscule portions of the most unappetizing foods Jungwoo had ever seen. There was a mound of what looked like creamy chicken salad, clearly the liver mousse, and a bowl of vegetable slaw glistening in a vinegary sauce. Cubes of charred bread lay in a delicate pattern on yet another plate, right beside a pink mound of raw fish and apple pieces.

“How does everything look?” Mark asked.

_Like vomit._

“Perfect,” Jaehyun replied. “Jungwoo, do you mind if I put in the rest of our orders?”

He hadn’t even looked at the rest of the menu and he didn’t want to hold anything up, so he agreed. He continued to stare at the lumps of disgusting food while Jaehyun spoke with their waiter. Mark moved off again and they were left alone once more. 

There was nothing else to do for it. His time had run out. He was going to have to taste these awful offerings.

“Have you ever had mousse before?”

“Chocolate mousse. For dessert.”

“Well, this is a bit different. It should be the same texture, though. Why don’t you try it? Just spoon up a bit on a piece of toast and give it a try.”

Jungwoo let out a light moan as his spoon slid through the gelatinous mass of blended organ. It felt so thick and wrong, like a milkshake that had been left to sit out in the sun and fester for a week. And the sight of it spread on top of a piece of dry toast… he saw the texture of it and almost gagged.

“Come on,” Jaehyun encouraged. He lightly thumped one hand on the table, starting up a soft chant. “Do it. Do it. You can do it.”

_I can put Lucas’s huge dick in my mouth but not this tiny piece of toast?_

Shutting his eyes tightly, Jungwoo opened his mouth and put the piece of toast inside. That, in itself, wasn’t horrible at all. It was when he started to chew and the powerful, meaty smell of the liver started to permeate his nostrils from the inside out. Then his tongue touched it, and it was like the time he ate dog food on a dare. Disappointing and slimy and disturbingly gritty.

Grabbing for a napkin, he brought it up to his mouth and spit out what he’d been chewing.

Jaehyun leaned back in his chair, laughing helplessly as Mark came up, apparently alerted again by some sixth sense. “How is everything?”

Wiping tears from his eyes, Jaehyun said, “Oh, absolutely wonderful! We’re really discovering a lot of things about each other.”

Mark smiled uncertainly and moved away again.

“I’ll make it up to you if you go out with me again,” Jaehyun said, still smiling at Jungwoo as he downed half of the glass of his sweet wine to get rid of the foul taste in his mouth. “We’ll definitely do pizza. And nothing expensive either. Gas station pizza.”

“You really know how to pursue a guy over.”

“What else am I supposed to do with my carefree, unstructured days?”

Jungwoo smiled over at him. “Care to tell me more about that? What exactly does the manager of a real estate company do all day?”

He instantly regretted being so straightforward. The joviality in Jaehyun’s gaze instantly melted away, leaving a hard wall that couldn’t be penetrated. “I really appreciate your interest but I talk enough business with my secretary. I’d just like to have a good time with you and not think about work.”

“Fair enough,” Jungwoo said. He should have known it wouldn’t be so easy. After all, he was the only one here with an agenda. “I’m sorry if it seemed like I was prying. I was just curious.”

“Well, I’m more curious about you.” Jaehyun picked up a square of toast and helped himself to some of the liver mousse, savoring the morsel. “What exactly is contemporary literature?”

As Jungwoo talked about books and how writing changed to reflect the time, they slowly worked their way through the appetizer. The tartare tasted like sushi, and the other components weren’t bad at all. Although the liver continued to be a terrible adversary only vanquished by a massive effort from Jaehyun.

Their dinners came, a first course of broth and salad followed by a second of chicken and lamb. Everything was much better now, if a bit rich for Jungwoo, and they settled deeper into their conversation. Jungwoo did most of the talking, urged on by his companion. 

“I’ve never talked so much about myself before.” Their meal was winding down, both of them studying the array of available desserts listed at the bottom of the menu. “I feel like I’m running out of words.”

“I doubt that.” Jaehyun broke off the conversation long enough to greet their waiter and order the Tavern’s specialty cookie plate for dessert. “There’s a whole lot more to Jungwoo What’s-His-Name than just who he’s been for the past couple years. We’ve already established that. I’d like to know who Jungwoo was, and where he wants to be in the future.”

What he really wanted was to be married to his soulmate, and to live a happy and uncomplicated life with him. That had been the whole point of this endeavor, but he was now starting to see that it wouldn’t be anywhere near that easy.

Each cookie was as exquisite as only a cookie could be. Despite the fact that they might be sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt, or infused with blood orange syrup and genuine gold leaf, a cookie was always going to be a cookie. Sweet and indulgent, and best eaten after being drowned in a glass of milk.

“I could use some of that salt in my life,” Jungwoo laughed. Mark came up to give them their bill, pausing to listen. “I never thought I’d call salt anything but salt, but that was some next-level stuff.”

_Is it possible to get drunk off of one glass of dessert wine?_

“I’m so glad you liked it, sir.” Mark smiled down at him. “It really makes a world of difference, doesn’t it? I hear they make lamps from the crystals now.”

“A rock lamp?” Jungwoo asked, curiously. He hadn’t ever heard of such a thing, and now he was going to have to read up on it. “That doesn’t seem like it would be very bright.”

“It isn’t, sir. They’re meant for low-lighting and ambiance, but I’ve heard they also purify the air in a house and help with depression.” Mark took the payment from Jaehyun, who Jungwoo hadn’t even been paying attention to. “I’ll be right back with your card.”

“You didn’t have to pay!” Jungwoo protested. “I… have money.”

Jaehyun patted the back of his hand. “You were busy, and I’m terrible at math. It was easier to just pay for both of us instead of trying to figure out who owed what, and what percentage of cookies you ate. Besides, isn’t that what a gentleman would do?”

“Your secretary must really have her work cut out for her if her boss can’t even do a simple equation.”

Jaehyun chuckled, standing up and offering Jungwoo his hand. “She’s been with me almost since the start. I’d be lost without her. Shall we go?”

“Alright,” Jungwoo agreed. He took Jaehyun’s hand and stood, and this time the other man didn’t let go. His hand feeling hot, a strange sensation running up and down his arm, Jungwoo followed Jaehyun out into the street. 

He caught a glimpse of the company car, and the driver reading in the front seat. “There’s my ride.” He caught himself just before pointing. That would have been a dumb move, completely blowing his cover.

“And there’s mine.” Jaehyun jerked his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing to a car parked at the nearby corner. “I suppose I’ll let you go, but I want to tell you first that I really appreciated you spending time with me tonight. I had more fun with you than I’ve had in months.”

Jungwoo clutched a little tighter at the other man’s fingers, startled to find heat pricking at the back of his eyes. “I had fun with you too. I really did.”

“What do you think my chances are of that second date?”

_I shouldn’t do this. He clearly really likes me. It just isn’t fair to do this to him._

It also wasn’t fair to give up on the one thing he wanted most. And if this was the only way to get it…

“As long as you feed me pizza, I’ll come.”

Jaehyun grinned and grabbed his other hand, holding them between their bodies tightly. Then, he leaned down. Jungwoo saw his lips descend and closed his eyes, bracing for it, but the kiss landed on his cheek instead of his lips. It burned him all the same, perhaps even more so because of the sweetness of it all.

When he opened his eyes again, dizzy and swaying, Jaehyun had already gone.

_I have to tell Lucas that he’s wrong._

Turning away, Jungwoo went to the driver and tried to sift through his thoughts all through the long drive back to the apartment. However, the more he tried to sort them, the messier they became. He gave up out of frustration and barged into the living room, forgetting to be quiet and polite for the first time since he moved in.

Lucas sprang to his feet and hurried toward him. “Well?” he demanded. “Did you find out his secrets?”

“He… uh… refused to talk business yet.” Jungwoo looked down at his feet. “Listen, Lucas, I think you’re wrong about him. He—”

Lucas interrupted him with a firm tap on the nose, a frown on his lips and in his eyes. “Now, now. I’m never wrong. You just need to dig deeper. More dates. Do whatever you think is right.”

Jaehyun wouldn’t have interrupted.

“Yeah, okay,” Jungwoo muttered. Somehow, he didn’t think it would be very hard to take that second date, and that was worrying.


	9. Closer

_He was really starting to come out of his shell there at the end._

It had been a full four days since their date, and Jaehyun thought he would hear from the other man by now. He couldn’t help but to worry that he read the situation entirely wrong, but Jungwoo had all but promised they would have a second date. The most he could do was hope the college man was busy with his schoolwork and that was why he didn’t answer his phone. Jaehyun had both called and texted the other, once each, in an attempt to not seem needy.

“Sir?”

The word hardly registered. He fiddled with the papers in front of him, frowning down at them. Numbers and letters crawled across the page without any order at all, unfocused and meaningless even though they should have been important to him. He knew they were important. These numbers represented profits and growth, pointing to the future of his company. These forms were his livelihood… and he couldn’t have cared less.

“Jaehyun!”

He jerked his head up, hand jumping across the stack of forms. Papers went flying, skittering across the long meeting table and drifting to the floor. His secretary stared at him from where she sat a few chairs away, her eyebrows raised sharply. 

“Jaehyun, are you paying attention? This is very serious.”

“I’m listening,” he replied. “I was just deep in thought. Go on.”

“Well, what do you think about the strategy that was just proposed?” another of the team asked. Their voice echoed with fake mockery, poking fun at him because it was quite obvious that he was lying.

He didn’t really mind though. In fact, he smiled and relaxed a little as the others around the table chuckled at their boss’s behavior. He wasn’t just their boss, however. They were all family, and they knew that he could be a bit spacey at times and it was their job to catch those lapses. Though that didn’t mean they would let it go quietly.

He was just about to ask to have the strategy repeated for him, when his pocket buzzed. He grabbed for it without thinking, pulling out his phone and standing up in the same motion. “Sorry but I have to answer this. I trust you to come up with the best solution without me and to fill me in when I come back.”

It was his personal phone that rang, in the right pocket. There was only one person he wanted to hear from right now; one person he had been waiting to speak with for days. His soul told him this caller was exactly who he wanted, and so he didn’t even look at the name before answering.

“Jungwoo!”

“Nope,” the caller croaked. “Try again.”

Jaehyun winced, berating himself for being so stupid. Lesson learned: always check the number first, no matter what. “Sorry, Dad. I thought you were someone else.”

“Clearly,” his father said, amusement in his rough voice. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No, no,” Jaehyun reassured him, moving away from the meeting room door and farther off down the hallway to come stand before the windows that overlooked the street. “I was in a meeting but you rescued me.”

His father let out a soft laugh. “You’ll remember those meetings fondly in a few years when you’re so busy doing meet and greets that you don’t even have time to sit down. What was the topic?”

“I’m actually not sure, really.”

“Son, you have to focus. This is the future of your company that we’re talking about, here.”

Jaehyun snorted. “I am focusing, trust me. I’m focusing on restructuring my life in the near future so that I’m not so overworked all the time.”

“But if you’re not overworked, you’re not doing it right.”

“Well…” Jaehyun lowered his voice, making a quick decision about what he was going to say. “I met someone. I’ve been thinking about them, is all.”

“How serious is it, Son?”

“Well…” He paused, embarrassed suddenly. “We’ve only been on one date.”

“Ha! One date? And you’re going to completely rearrange your whole life after one date only? That’s not anything to base anything on. You’ll get in over your head.”

_I shouldn’t have told him. I probably shouldn’t tell anyone this just yet._

“Is there an actual reason you called to talk, Dad? Or did you just want to make fun of my personal life?”

His father sighed, suddenly sounding tired. Jaehyun’s heart ached at the sound. “I just got to thinking about the past again, is all.”

“Dad, you can’t keep doing that. It’s not good for your health, okay? And besides, the past is the past. It’s better buried.”

Digging up the past, as far as he was concerned, was the path to ruin between them and they had already gone through that once. 

“I know, but I couldn’t help regretting…”

The old man sounded so weary, so broken. Jaehyun felt his chest tighten in sympathy. “Well, don’t. You don’t have anything to regret anymore. Neither of us does.” He glanced over at the clock. “You have a doctor’s visit in half an hour, don’t you?”

“I’m already out the door,” his father grunted. “You can’t keep track of your own damn life but you sure seem to have a good handle on mine. I hope I’ll see you again soon, Jaehyun.”

“Sure. I’ll talk to you later, Dad.”

He hung up and let out a sigh, shaking his head. Their conversations weren’t normally that rough to get through; that, combined with the fact that his father sounded sicker, made him worry that something else was really going on besides a bad case of regret. Well, he would find time to visit the old man soon. He would do that anyway, and had been for months now, but those were normally for a reason of a different nature. His father would probably appreciate to talk just for the sake of talking.

Yeah, there was a definite change in his future as far as planning went.

He was just about to put the phone away and head back into the meeting when it rang right in his hands, startling him so that he almost dropped it. Remembering last time, he looked at the name first.

_Jungwoo._

All at once, he couldn’t breathe. Anticipation pulsed through his whole body, making his breath quiver in his lungs. Trembling, he slid his thumb across the green mark on the screen and brought the cell up to his ear. 

“Hey, Jungwoo.”

“Hi,” the quiet voice on the other end of the line replied. 

Silence fell between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. For some reason, Jaehyun felt that he could spend all night just listening to the sound of the other thinking and breathing. It definitely would be a better fate than hearing his employees and advisors repeating themselves all day. He still wanted to speak, but he wouldn’t rush this.

Eventually, Jungwoo spoke up again. “I was wondering if you still might want to go out with me again for that second date? It’s okay if you don’t, I mean…”

“Of course I do,” Jaehyun said, not interrupting but slipping easily into the trailing gap between words. “I would love to! Are you free tonight?”

He asked the question before even considering if he himself could be free tonight – and the answer was no – but he was still the boss, and there was still quite a lot that he could get away with even if he really shouldn’t push his luck like that. 

“Actually, I have classes until really late tonight so maybe it isn’t the best day.” He sounded disappointed. “I was just thinking about you and I had a few minutes between classes, so…”

Jungwoo had been thinking about him too? Maybe there was more to this than his dad thought there was. He couldn’t imagine any of his one-night stands thinking about him even for just a few days after their… activities.

“I was thinking about you too. And, if you don’t mind the idea, I can pick you up on campus and we can head out for a late dinner. The gas stations don’t ever run out of those pizzas, you know.”

He could hear the gears turning in the other man’s head as he contemplated the situation. In the silence, Jaehyun became aware of a small amount of background chatter and figured that the break period was over now. It was time to make a decision.

“Well… Are you sure it wouldn’t be troublesome?”

_How does a man use a big word and still sound so cute?_

“Yeah, I’m sure. It would be my pleasure. I remember what school you’re at too.”

“You do?” Jungwoo sounded as though he couldn’t decide whether to be flattered or creeped out. “Okay, well… I’ll text you when I’ve got like half an hour left or something, okay?” 

“Sure,” Jaehyun replied. He closed his eyes, daring to take the leap. “You know, you can text me whenever you want. If you want.”

“I’ll think about it. I’ll see you tonight.”

“See you.”

A rare creature, that unicorn, and now Jaehyun was going to have another chance at glimpsing it. He hoped it would go even better than the last. But, for now, he had to return to the meeting.

The looks on everyone’s faces when he arrived back told him that they hadn’t actually been expecting him to return. If he could have walked back out without looking like a fool, he would have.

Instead, he pulled out his chair and sat down, folded his hands, and leaned forward on his elbows. “Fill me in,” he said.

And they did.

And he did his damnedest to follow all of it, even with all the missing pieces. He was the boss. He could do whatever he wanted… and he was a smart enough boss to realize that he actually couldn’t.

The rest of the day passed slowly. The meeting ended. Clients filtered in and out. Jaehyun met with some of them, but he also took calls and answered all the important emails that had been piling up in just the past few hours. Correspondence would be put on hold for no man.

He made an effort to ignore the clock. Watching the minutes and hours go by would only worsen the sensation of slow time. He sank into his work, giving it every last bit of his concentration.

His secretary said he looked intense. “Like an angry swan.”

“Well, at least I’ll be graceful and beautiful,” he replied, scribbling his signature on the form in front of him. She hummed and left him alone. 

Done with that form, he pulled out the next one. Some had to be printed, and his secretary fetched those for him from the printer beside her desk. His eyes started to ache from staring so much at a computer screen but he ignored it and moved his mouse over to his inbox to refresh and answer the next email.

Nothing new appeared.

Puzzled, he glanced over at the time and realized just how late it was. Everyone else in most of NYC was ending their work day, or had already done so. Things were winding down, and he realized for the first time how quiet the office had grown. There weren’t even any voices filtering up from the lower levels, and he couldn’t hear the busy shuffling of his employees moving around outside his door. Gone was the scent of coffee, and gone was the day. The light from outside had mellowed even since the last time he checked, no longer afternoon but heading fully into evening.

He checked his phone. Nothing from Jungwoo. Not yet, anyway. However, now that he was aware of the late hour he could start preparing for when he got that text, so he spent a few minutes returning his belongings to their proper places. As he shut down his computer, his pocket buzzed. He didn’t need to look, but he did. Of course it was Jungwoo.

_Time to go then. I want to be there and waiting._

He stepped outside of his office and locked it behind him and was surprised to still see his secretary sitting at her own desk. “Irene? Time to go home.”

“In a minute,” she said. “I’m in the middle of something important.”

He had never known Irene to be late for anything, and that included leaving. Confused, he moved around behind her to look at her screen. As expected, it was turned off.

“You’re right,” he said. “That looks incredibly important. Don’t let me interrupt it.”

He moved off again, but slowly, so that when she looked up at him he was still within sight. “Boss?”

“Yeah?” he said, turning back around. He had known she wanted to talk. Of course she did. People usually did. “What is it?”

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“You already are,” he replied. All thoughts of his upcoming date were out of his mind as he moved to come stand back beside her desk, leaning one hip on the sturdy furniture. “And we’re both off company time, so you can hit me with whatever you want.”

His secretary sighed and just looked down at her hands. “I guess that’s good since it has nothing to do with business. My boyfriend just dumped me through email about an hour ago. Can you believe it? An email. While I’m at work. The bastard.”

Jaehyun winced. “That’s rough, Irene. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not like I didn’t see it coming, but… it’s like he doesn’t want me to work on my career! He says I love working more than I love him.” Her hands fisted in her lap. “It didn’t use to be true, but…”

As much as the employees of his company were family, Jaehyun didn’t touch them. He never knew when someone would cross the line, or think that he had; this was a different sort of circumstance, and so now he lay one hand on Irene’s shoulder and patted it. “So, by being a jerk, he saved you a lot of heartbreak down the road. It’s rough now but later on, you’ll find someone much better who cheers for you instead of keeping you on the sidelines.”

“Is that a sports analogy?” Irene raised one eyebrow. 

“It was the best I could think of,” he admitted. They both laughed softly. It was something of an in-joke that he had banned anything sports-related in the building due to the fact that his rival, Lucas Wong, had played football. 

“Jaehyun, why has no woman snatched you up yet?”

He glanced around the office but found no escape from the question. “I guess that’d be because I still think girls are icky.”

“You’re… oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to assume.”

He smiled a little. “It doesn’t bother me. I still appreciate the thought. And just to let you know, I’m kind of in the same boat as you. I didn’t really think I had time for anything personal, but I just met someone and… They’re special. One of the ones worth waiting for, I think. I just have to figure out how to balance everything.”

Irene looked amused now. “I knew there had to be a reason you were leaving so early. Well, I manage your schedule so… if you ever need any changes, let me know.”

“I will. Thank you. Are you going to be okay?”

“I think I will. And I think you’re right. Have a good night, boss.”

“You too. Maybe think about going home though.”

He left her giggling and went over to the stairs, leaping down them two at a time because he had no patience for the elevator. He didn’t regret stopping to talk to Irene at all—he hoped someone would do the same for him if he was in that situation—but he was very aware now that he had to hurry or else risk getting caught up in traffic.

Traffic wasn’t terrible, but he did end up arriving at the college campus a little late. The traffic there was considerably worse than out on the streets, which was saying something. He stayed patient, though. All these college students improving their lives and looking forward to the future, he supposed he could spare an extra minute or two letting them pull out in front of him. 

He followed the signs and found the building where Jungwoo had said he would be. And he really was there, looking like a ghost where he stood in the shadows just outside the edge of the street light. Dusk pressed at the far corners of the sky, creating a mellow play of light and shadow that accented Jungwoo’s features. The other man was beautiful.

In fact, he was more beautiful than he had been the past two times Jaehyun saw him and the reason was simple: this was Jungwoo’s element. Light glinted off of a pair of reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He wore a t-shirt and jeans that were rumpled, accentuating the whole sleepy-eyed, casual, academic look. With his dark, straight satin-soft black hair flopped into his eyes…

He was downright dreamy.

Jaehyun parked the car and waved through the window. Jungwoo didn’t return it, although he did hurry to open the door and climb inside.

“Sorry I’m late,” Jaehyun said. “I had to talk to my secretary.”

Jungwoo fumbled with his seat belt. “I thought you weren’t going to talk business with me?”

“I’m not.” Jaehyun shifted out of park and drove off around the bend to rejoin the main road that went around the campus and its parking lots. “It wasn’t business between us.”

“But you’re the boss.”

“So?” Jaehyun shrugged. “What’s the point of having a company and working toward something if the connections you make along the way are only skin deep? I want my employees to make connections. I want my managers to become friends, and I want my interns to go back to school and tell their friends all about us. I want my clients to realize that this is more than just a partnership. It’s a family.”

Jungwoo had gone very quiet as Jaehyun spoke, but now he lifted his head and looked hard at him. Jaehyun couldn’t really turn to look at the other, not while he was driving, so he settled for just raising his eyebrows and basking in the warmth of that gaze. “What is it?”

“You sound really passionate about all this. More than just a normal boss would, I mean. Isn’t it just business to you?”

“It should be,” Jaehyun grunted. He spit the words out as if they were venom. He hated their taste. “At least, that’s what a lot of people would say. However, I’ve learned that, for a whole hell of a lot of people, work is all they’ve got. And work is always going to be work. It isn’t a party. But… where is the harm in giving people something else in their lives? If they need it. Or even if they don’t. We’re a family, and I don’t hire people who I wouldn’t want to be in my family.”

“You’re a noble person,” Jungwoo said, quietly. His voice was full of admiration, which touched Jaehyun to his very core. He felt warm, deep in his stomach, and almost hot in other certain places. “I mean that. It’s hard to find people like that anymore. And I think… I have to apologize. I’m sorry, Jaehyun.”’

The warmth he felt suddenly relocated and became ice crawling down his spine, chilling him. That sentence never had a good meaning. “What are you apologizing for?”

His hands were tight on the steering wheel. He didn’t even know where he was driving anymore, or where he had wanted to head in the first place. 

“I had you pegged pretty wrongly when we first met.”

“Oh?” While that seemed serious, it wasn’t at all what he’d been afraid of. He relaxed, slumping down a little. “How is that?”

“I’d kind of heard some things about you from other people that were pretty rude. And, I realize now, pretty wrong. So, I’m sorry. You’re a terrific guy.”

_A terrific guy._

“I’m aware of my reputation,” he said. “People thinking I have some big secret that lets me get the upper hand, right? And then they take out the rest of their frustrations on me by saying I’m causing whatever else is wrong with them. I’m just starting to think that the biggest problem people have is just not taking responsibility for themselves. And my big secret? I care. That’s all.” And sometimes, he knew, he cared too much about all the wrong things. His big secret seemed to him to be a big weakness, sometimes.

“Well, I’m glad that you care!” Jungwoo burst out. “I’m glad I was wrong about you, and I’m glad that I met you! You’re not who I thought and that’s a good thing, for once. You make me feel comfortable.”

Jaehyun said nothing, because words seemed so insignificant in response to that sort of praise. His heart swelled in his chest, and he hoped Jungwoo would appreciate the silence for what it was. Only after a few minutes of aimless driving did he realize he still had no idea where he was headed. 

“Did you have somewhere in particular you wanted to get pizza from?” he asked.

“Can I actually get a raincheck on that pizza?” Jungwoo looked down at his hands. “And the very next restaurant you see is fine with me. I don’t care. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

Jaehyun spotted a neon sign in the distance and headed for it, squinting to make out what the wording might be. “You should bring a snack bar or something in your bag, Jungwoo. It’s not good for your brain to be hungry all day.”

“Well, it hasn’t been all day…”

“But it’s been long enough. If you won’t get yourself something to keep in your bag, I guess I’ll just have to do it.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

Jaehyun pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant he had seen from afar, which he could now see was called La Casa. “I don’t have to do a lot of things,” he retorted. “But I do it anyway because I care. And also because I can.”

“Yes, boss,” Jungwoo said, sarcastically.

They both got out of the car and headed inside the restaurant. A short, compact Latino man greeted them. “How many?”

“Only us two.”

The host led them over to a booth in the corner. “A server will be along shortly. Thank you for choosing to dine with us at such a late hour.”

Jaehyun hid his amusement at the practiced words. They were delivered in the painstaking manner of someone who clearly had a firm grasp on English and wanted to prove it. The deliberate squashing of the accent only seemed to accentuate it. It wouldn’t be nice to point that out though. He was saved from having to do so by Jungwoo leaning toward him and whispering, “Did you see his moustache?”

“I didn’t,” Jaehyun whispered back.

“It was straight out of a 70s gangster film!”

Jaehyun chuckled and they settled in, looking over the menu while being served drinks and the customary chips and salsa. Jungwoo set into those with a vengeance. Jaehyun watched the shape of his mouth, his full lips reddened slightly by the heat of the sauce. Then, to his surprise, Jungwoo picked up a bottle of hot sauce that sat at the edge of the table and patted a liberal amount into the salsa bowl.

“You like it hot? I’m surprised.”

Jungwoo looked up with his mouth full of protruding chip corners, and Jaehyun laughed again.

When their server returned, he ordered the first thing he saw. He had only been pretending to read the menu, instead choosing to watch Jungwoo peruse the pages. The other man ordered a Mexican pizza, and their orders were placed and delivered again in a timely fashion. And no wonder, since they were the only customers.

“This looks really good,” Jungwoo said, looking down at his “pizza” with his eyes glowing and full of hunger.

After inspecting his own meal, Jaehyun was obliged to agree. He had a flattened chicken breast smothered in red sauce and beans, served with a side of rice and tortillas. Even though he was the one who had eaten lunch, he felt his stomach give a heavy lurch and water filled his mouth.

“What’s that?”

Jaehyun followed Jungwoo’s pointing finger to a square piece of cornbread perched on the very edge of his place. “A little extra, I guess. It looks like cornbread.”

“But it’s… shiny.” Jungwoo said, through a mouthful of his pizza, a smudge of refried beans at the corner of his mouth. Jaehyun was momentarily fascinated by it, resisting the urge to reach out with his thumb and wipe the smudge away. He might accidentally twitch at the end of it, brushing his touch against the other man’s soft lower lip. And then Jungwoo’s tongue flicked out, and Jaehyun felt the heat from earlier return even stronger than before. His groin ached, and he moved his legs closer together to try and fight against the hardening of his dick, as if he might be at risk of being discovered.

“Jaehyun? You okay?”

He snapped back to himself instantly, with a little shudder. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”

_And I think I might be losing control. My feelings are growing way too fast._

Desperate for something else to focus on, he brought his eyes back to the little square of cornbread. Jungwoo was right. It was shiny, strangely sticky-looking. Covered in honey, maybe?

He reached down and picked it up, surprised at how absolutely heavy it was and not sticky at all. “Huh. It feels kind of greasy.”

Curiosity got the best of him and he brought it up to his mouth to take a nibble. A rich, incredibly sweet taste flooded across his tongue. It tasted like cornbread, if cornbread had decided to be cake for a day.

“Wow. That’s intense.”

“Really?” Jungwoo grinned and leaned forward over his dinner plate. “Let me try.”

“Here.” Jaehyun held out the piece of cornbread, politely offering a corner that he hadn’t bitten from. 

Jungwoo’s dark eyes slid up to his, and Jaehyun wondered if he’d never been fed by another person before. It was such an ordinary thing to do, wasn’t it? If someone was interested in a bite of the food someone else had on their plate, it was completely normal to stab it with your fork and offer it over. How had he never experienced this before?

There was a first time for everything though. He watched as a look of determination—maybe more than the situation called for—crossed the other man’s face. His mouth opened, lips parting softly to take the edge of the offering in his mouth. Jaehyun laughed, incredulous, as a look of wonder and delight spread across his companion’s face. 

“It’s better than sex!”

Then Jungwoo snapped back and put his hand over his mouth with his eyes wide. Realization of what he had said set in and he lifted up his other hand now.

Jaehyun reached out and pulled his hands down, laying them again on the table. He couldn’t help smiling. His face hurt from smiling so much, reminding him of how rarely he was genuinely amused. “Well, if you like it so much, you can have it.”

Jungwoo accepted it, but the look on his face was one of wariness and shock, as if he didn’t quite trust himself.

_Don’t do this, honey. Don’t ruin this for both of us. Stay opened up._

Unfortunately, Jungwoo remained closed off for the rest of their dinner date. Jaehyun didn’t press him. Clearly, a line had been crossed here and he would have to be sensitive to it in the future.

With dinner finished, they headed back out to the car. Jaehyun opened the door for his companion, watching as he slid inside before walking back around to his own side. “Do you want to do anything else tonight?”

Silence, and then a shake of the head. “Thank you for dinner but I’m pretty tired. I have some work I need to do when I get home too, before I can sleep.”

“Of course.”

The drive back to the college was somehow longer than before. Jaehyun just focused on navigating, since he wasn’t used to this area.

“I’m parked over there.” Jungwoo pointed.

_Would you like it if I thought it’s so endearing that you point like a little kid?_

Jaehyun pulled up beside Jungwoo’s vehicle, which was in a spot way back in the shadows of the corner where trees were planted nearby. There was writing on the side of the vehicle but he didn’t care enough to see what it actually said.

“Thank you again,” Jungwoo said and got out of the car.

_I can let you go. Or I can push my limits here. I feel it. Do you?_

Before he could stop himself, he turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. Jungwoo turned back toward him, confusion and a bit of fright on his face. “What are you doing?”

Jaehyun reached out and snagged onto the other’s shoulders, leaning forward and pressing their lips together hard. Jungwoo tasted of sweet cornbread and tension, and his lips were so soft. Where they touched, it burned. It tingled on his lips and burned deep down in the core of his stomach and lower still. With a gasp, he pulled away from Jungwoo and threw himself back into the car. He didn’t look. He didn’t dare breathe or think. He just needed to get away as fast as possible, before he could regret what he had done.

Oh, but he was already regretting it. And even as he peeled away as fast as he could with his foot jammed down on the pedal, he couldn’t help but to look in the rearview mirror. He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t stop himself.

Jungwoo stood in the place where Jaehyun left him, glued to the spot. As Jaehyun watched, one hand gently lifted up to touch his lips.

Feeling his burning desire pressing against his inner thigh, Jaehyun shuddered and looked back out at the road. All he could hope was that it had been the right thing to do. The other was certainly stunned… but was it a good sort of stunned?


	10. I Smell Some Jealousy

“Where have you been?”

Jungwoo looked up, his hand still pressing against his lips. He had driven home one-handed because he couldn’t keep his fingers away. His lips were still tingling and he had no idea when they would stop, if they would ever stop. 

“Oh, Lucas,” he said, looking at his boyfriend. “Sorry I’m late.”

“You’re extremely late!” Lucas said, standing up and gesturing toward Jungwoo. “What happened to you? You were supposed to be home hours ago. And what happened to your shirt?”

_What did happen to my shirt?_

Jungwoo looked down, noticing for the first time that he had a huge stain on the front of his shirt. It was red, presumably salsa. 

“I’m sorry, Lucas. It’s just… you really wanted me to do this, you know? And I really want to be with you, so I… I did what you asked, and… well…”

Lucas grabbed his shoulders, but his grip was rougher than Jaehyun’s. Jungwoo twisted away from it automatically, surprising himself. “What are you talking about, babe?”

“I called Jung Jaehyun and asked him out on another date. And he said yes. And I went and we had dinner and he kissed me. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss him. Uh… but… I didn’t. He kissed me, Lucas. I swear. Lucas?”

Lucas was shaking, presumably with anger. Jungwoo cringed slightly. In their three years, he had seen Lucas angry plenty of times but he had never had that anger directed at him before. He had come to think that he was immune to it, that he was Lucas’s special someone who could never make him angry.

And now he was about to be proven wrong.

Lucas reached out, shoulders quivering… and he grabbed Jungwoo around his shoulders and pulled him in tight, crushing him in a rib-bending hug. His fingers ruffled through Jungwoo’s hair, stroking him down the back of his skull and all the way down his spine to his ass. 

“You are a damn genius,” Lucas whispered. He sounded aggressive and soothing all at once. “A damn genius. You’re so good at this. We’re going to know everything about him in no time!”

Jungwoo smiled feebly. The edges of his lips continued to tingle. “Are you sure you don’t mind that… a kiss happened? Are you sure it isn’t cheating?”

“Of course not! This is exactly what we were planning on!”

_What you were planning on, you mean._

“Babe, you had an idea and you acted on it! And you went out there and nailed it!” Lucas released Jungwoo and spun around in the living room, pacing and slapping his palms together in a motion reminiscent of his days as a football player, working himself up and getting pumped. “The more you do this, the better you’re going to get at it! His secrets are ours.”

“Lucas!” Jungwoo exclaimed. He was smiling, incredulous and not sure if he was happy or not. It made him feel light to be the cause of his boyfriend’s happiness, but he still felt so… so uncomfortable with all of this. “Can you listen to me for just a second?”

Lucas spun again, turning to look at him. “Sure, babe. What is it?”

“He already told me his secrets!” Jungwoo spread his hands. “He said he treats his employees like family and tries to make real connections with his clients that go beyond just business. He said his secret is that he cares. And that’s all he said. That was it.”

Dark clouds swept in over Lucas’s face, rendering his bright expression overcast and moody once again. “He fed you a load of shit is what he did.”

“He was sincere.”

“No,” Lucas grunted. He reached down and took Jungwoo’s hand, patting the back of it. The gesture was somehow condescending, and not at all how it felt when Jaehyun had done the same; he didn’t feel reassured in the least. “He wasn’t sincere. He played you, babe. He doesn’t trust you yet, but he will. And faster than I ever expected. I love you so much for doing this for me.”

“I love you too…”

“Now, let me tell you something.” Lucas leaned down over Jungwoo, staring deep into his eyes. “No one in their right mind treats business as anything but business. If I palled around with my workers, I would have gone under months ago. That Jung bastard is trying to make himself seem like he’s something he’s not because he wants to impress you, to catch you like a fish.” Lucas made an exaggerated reeling motion with one hand, pretending to struggle with his imaginary fish. “But little does he know, you’re not just some regular old sardine. You’re a goddamn shark, and he’s going to be the one who gets caught!”

“I don’t think they fish for sardines with a fishing rod.”

Lucas shrugged, uninterested. “You get the point. Anyway, come on.” He grabbed Jungwoo’s hand. 

“Where are we going, and why?”

_I don’t really want to do anything tonight._

But it seemed as though he didn’t have any choice. Lucas already had him in the bedroom, tossing him on the bed while he fetched their bottle of gel lube. Jungwoo sighed and undressed, lying flat on his back and spreading his legs obediently. His member lay limp against his thigh, a sure sign that he didn’t want any part of this. 

Lucas came back to him and crawled on top of him, kissing his lips. The tingling returned from before, flaring back to life. All at once, Jungwoo’s tension and apprehension morphed into something uncontrollable and needy; grabbing Lucas’s face in his hands, he crushed their mouths together and bucked his hips so that his swelling member rubbed against the other man’s body. He had been so hot and bothered all this time, so ready and agitated; his body hadn’t been capable of understanding why there was no release.

And there was release here now as Lucas’s fingers prepared him for what was coming next; the act they knew so well. Jungwoo sank into the sensations, shutting his eyes so as to better enjoy them. Friction was friction, wasn’t it? Attraction was all the same. He loved Lucas, and Lucas loved him. It didn’t matter if Jaehyun got him riled up, because that was what Lucas wanted.

And as far as he was concerned, Lucas could have anything he wanted. And he would. 

His resolve strengthened, Jungwoo fully gave himself to the other man. And if he found himself imagining someone a bit lighter atop him, with slightly paler skin, he made himself not care. It didn’t matter if that eyes and a gentle touch made him burn, as long as he returned to where he knew he belonged.


	11. Oh You And I

The scratching of pens on paper, overlaid with a soft, sporadic typing as college students took down notes. Up front, the professor paced across her stage while gesturing and lecturing on the subject.

Jungwoo wrote down key words and phrases automatically as his professor’s voice went in one ear and out the other. He wasn’t even really sure what class he was in at the moment. He was completely on autopilot, with only a fraction of his mind intent on learning. 

The rest of him was deep, deep in thought, churning with turmoil. He was starting to doubt all that he had thought the other night, locked in that glorious sex act with Lucas. In fact, the doubt came across him almost as soon as they were done, laying in his boyfriend’s arms while the other man fell asleep immediately. Jungwoo could only lie there, still with lube on his skin, and try to force the mental image of Jaehyun out of his mind. Of course, he was unsuccessful as hell and the more he tried not to think, the more he actually did.

It wasn’t just all physical. He knew that. He just wished it wasn’t true. He wanted to believe that everything was simple attraction, physical desire, but it just wasn’t that simple. It wasn’t just the tingles, or the warmth deep in the pit of his stomach, or the way his legs went all wobbly. It was the way his heart fluttered when he looked into Jaehyun’s eyes, losing himself. It was how comfortable he felt around the other man, soothed by his very presence after his initial nervousness had worn away. Of course, he naturally relaxed around a new person after a certain amount of time but never within days like this.

It was the way Jaehyun looked at him; the way Jaehyun laughed. It was the way he himself was laughing, and enjoying himself. All his tension just melted. Worst of all, he felt a tug in his heart. A tug, an admiration, a need that passed far beyond the realms of simple want. 

He felt so disloyal. This wasn’t at all what was supposed to happen, and it wasn’t what he was supposed to be doing. Lucas had to be right. Jaehyun couldn’t be such a saint, could he?

 _He can say anything he wants,_ Jungwoo realized slowly. His mind jerked to a staggering halt, and the world tilted around him before righting itself. The sounds of the classroom filtered back to him, along with the professor’s droning voice. A slow grin formed on his lips, thin and wavering. _I haven’t seen him actually interact with his employees. He could still be a horrible person._

Yet, would a horrible person encourage him to try new things? Perhaps, if he wanted to win him over badly enough. There were a lot of twisted people in the world.

Jungwoo sighed, resting his head in his hands and staring down at his notes. He noticed that his writing was all nonsense words, and he sighed even louder. Clothing rustled as heads turned in his direction, but otherwise he was ignored.

_I just don’t know what I’m going to do. Why did Lucas make me do this? Why couldn’t he just be happy with having a rival, or coming out on top naturally?_

Was the fault with Lucas? No! That was a terrible thing to think. Lucas was his own man. Just because he didn’t go out of his way to provide the romantic touches that Jaehyun had, it didn’t mean he was less. It didn’t mean he was more either. They were two entirely different people, each allowed to be what they were. And that was all. It wasn’t as hard as he was making it out to be. It really wasn’t.

But he couldn’t convince himself. It was hard enough so that it was nearly impossible. Nearly. No matter what, Jungwoo wanted a ring on his finger and he was going to get it whatever the cost.

How did Lucas do it though? How was he so confident in himself?

Just then, Jungwoo’s phone gave a polite little beep. It was the sound notification for his email, which rarely saw any action these days. And when he checked the phone, he saw exactly why he had been sent an email: he had several missed calls, all from the same person. 

Jung Jaehyun.

_That’s what he gets for trying to call me when I’m in class. He should know better._

And knowing better himself, knowing he should at least try to catch up with the lecture, Jungwoo tucked his phone against his legs and went to his email. 

_Jungwoo,_

_I imagine you’re hard at work learning about character archetypes and all that. I won’t take up too much of your time._

_I apologize for how I acted. It was impulsive and invasive, and I should have waited until you were ready. I understand if you never want to see me again, but if you do, are you free tonight? There’s a movie I’ve been wanting to watch ever since I saw the trailer for it, and it’s almost time for it to leave theaters. If you would accompany me, I would love that._

_Sincerely,_

_Jung Jaehyun_

Jungwoo sighed. Jung Jaehyun. Did he ever get tired of being the man everyone knew by name? He deserved a chance to go out to the movies if he wanted to. And if this particular movie had almost finished its runtime, there might not be another chance after this one.

He sent back a short reply, saying that of course he would go. There was no reason to comment on the rest of the other man’s email. His reply would suffice as a way to let the other know he had been somewhat forgiven. After all, Jungwoo had enjoyed the kiss. He couldn’t be mad about that.

Almost immediately, his phone gave another beep. He was aware of someone looking in his direction, clearly curious about the sound, but he ignored them. He was an adult. He could ignore a class if that was his prerogative.

There was no introduction to this email, all formalities dropped as though Jaehyun sent it in a hurry.

_Great! I can’t wait. The show is at 7 p.m. And I was wondering if you could actually come to my office this time, instead? At about 6? I have a meeting and I want to be ready to get going as soon as it’s over._

His office? 

The office full of workers that were supposedly treated as family. Jungwoo would be able to get a first-hand look at everything Jaehyun claimed. He could put his doubts to rest, or prove them once and for all.

He said _of course_ to that email as well. No others came, making him realize that he hadn’t asked what theater, or even what movie, but it didn’t really matter much. No doubt it would be some masculine action movie, or maybe something superheroes because those were all the rage these days.

As soon as class was over, Jungwoo grabbed up his things and hurried out of the room. Normally the last one to leave, he was aware of others giving him odd looks. He’d earned a lot of those today.

“No running in the hall, dammit. Are you five?”

He obeyed the irate words of the passing professor for only a moment, putting on another burst of speed the moment they were out of sight of each other. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out his phone again, punching in a single number. Speed dial took over from there, and a ringing filled his head.

“Jungwoo?” Lucas sounded surprised, and rightfully so. “I told you to never call me at my work.”

“I know and I’m sorry,” he blurted out. “But I’ve got Jaehyun going on another date with me and he wants me to go to his office.”

Silence, during which he struggled to get his breath while coming up to the company car he had driven to the college. 

“His office. You’re going inside? Shit.”

“Lucas?”

“Jungwoo.” Lucas’s voice broke. “Jungwoo, you are one hell of a guy. I can’t wait to marry you.”

And then he hung up.

Jungwoo stared at his phone, eyes wide and a smile flitting across his lips. Lucas wasn’t one for being overly emotional, and never had been. That was just the way he was. It made them opposites, a more interesting contrast with one another.

_I can’t wait to be married to you either. I love you._

He took the car and drove to where he knew Jung Real Estate was. He hadn’t ever been there before personally, but it was hard not to know where Lucas’s rival dwelled when that was all he ever talked about sometimes. And he couldn’t help but to think of how similar the two companies looked from the outside.

They were both three floors in height, placed in an area of high traffic. The parking lots were perpetually halfway full, and the buildings themselves were edged with careful landscaping to make them seem more inviting. Yet, Jaehyun’s building was clearly friendlier. It took Jungwoo a moment of puzzling over that impression before he realized what gave it. The Jung building was pale brick, a sort of beige and pink combination with protruding sections that bulged forth slightly from the rest of the walls. The impression was one of a castle, but a modest one.

Wong Property Management, Lucas’s company, was very much a product of modern times, and completely constructed out of glass and steel.

 _I would rather be part of this family right here,_ he thought, crossing the parking lot. _It feels more personal, somehow._

Maybe he could use this information to help Lucas redesign and rebuild. After all, that was what he was meant to be doing in the first place. He was here to gather information. 

He stepped inside and found himself in a lobby that was ringed with offices that operated behind walls of glass. Agents were perched within like zoo animals going about their day, busily working.

That was to be expected. What wasn’t expected was the way everyone looked up as he entered and offered him a smile or at least a wave. Tentatively, Jungwoo waved back and then continued looking. There were a great deal more plants inside than out, surprisingly. He had an idea that they were all real too, and not cheap plastic fabrications; the lobby smelled green and alive and fresh, and felt just a bit humid. 

There was an elevator against one wall, and a set of steps on the opposite side. Between them was a wide, curving smile of a desk covered in phones and computer screens and messy stacks of paper. Behind that desk was a petite young woman with a phone crammed between her ear and shoulder, as her arms worked busily elsewhere. Jungwoo stared, fascinated. She moved like an octopus, as if she had eight appendages. He had never seen anyone multitask quite like this, and especially not while talking in a clipped, professional manner. 

Professional, and yet there was another difference right there. She was smiling, and he could hear it in her voice, so no doubt the caller would be able to as well. More friendliness. 

_Jaehyun was telling the truth._

Not knowing what else to do, he walked up to the desk and waited near one end of it. The receptionist quickly finished with her call while he made an effort not to eavesdrop on any of it.

“Can I help you, sir?”

Jungwoo shuffled over awkwardly, uncertain of where to look. He hated staring at new people in the eyes. “Um, yes. I’m supposed to see Jaehyun. Uh, Jung. Jung Jaehyun. Mr. Jung. Your boss.”

He could have died from embarrassment, his stomach twisting. His legs wanted to run right back through those doors to get as far away from here as possible.

The receptionist spoke, and he heard her smiling. “Yes, I know who my boss is. Mr. Jung is in a meeting right now. Can I have your name and your message for him?”

He took a deep breath. “Kim Jungwoo. I’m actually here to go on a date with him.”

Just like that, the professional mask dropped away and the woman let out a gasp, bringing her hands up to press against her chest. “Oh, you’re Mr. Kim! I’m so sorry, I had no idea who you were.”

“It’s okay. Am I allowed to go up to him?”

“Of course, of course!” She smiled even wider than before and gestured toward the elevator. “We were expecting you. I apologize for that. Next time, you can just go up right away.”

He wondered how many next times there would be.

“Mr. Jung is all the way up on the third floor. He instructed me to tell you to wait in his office. When you get out of the elevator, go straight and continue down to the third door on your left. I will call him and let him know you’ve arrived.”

“Thank you…” Jungwoo looked at her name plate. “Ms. Bae.”

“The pleasure is all mine! Boss couldn’t stop talking about how you were finally going to come visit us. Everyone is so eager to meet you.”

Judging from the way he was greeted just by walking through the door, and by agents who didn’t even know who he was, Jungwoo had to think that was true. And it was all true. Everything Jaehyun said. 

He headed over to the elevator and rode it all the way up, and followed Ms. Bae’s instructions to reach Jaehyun’s office. It was unlocked, presumably just for Jungwoo to enter. Jaehyun couldn’t trust his staff enough to keep it unlocked at all times, could he? There had to be a line somewhere.

The office was, well, an office. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about it except for the two large windows on perpendicular corners, but they were just windows and the view outside was unremarkable as far as Jungwoo could tell. Gray. A whole lot of gray and silver, buildings and roads, with the only color being the cars that ambled along like so many iridescent beetles. 

The rest of the office was filled with bookcases, filing cabinets, an immense desk, and a few extra chairs shoved into the corner. Stacks of files and forms perched on those seats like unwelcome guests.

A fresh scent like laundry detergent made him feel somehow at ease. What was more comforting in the world than that scent, which brought to mind imaginings of home?

He had no idea how long he had before Jaehyun came from his meeting, although the general idea of it seemed to be that they would leave almost immediately. If he was going to find out some secrets, it had to be now.

Jungwoo circled around the monster of a desk and dropped his butt into the chair behind it. It was a good chair, for sure, but he also felt like sitting in even the best chair all day would make him go mad.

He reached out for the nearest drawer and pulled it open. No good. A junk drawer, although a fantastically neat and organized one. As he softly closed it and reached to open another, it occurred to him that even though he was minoring in business, he knew nothing about real estate. More to the point, he had no idea what Jaehyun’s bookkeeping was like, or anything; how was he supposed to recognize fraud then? 

This drawer was full of blank forms, all of them the exact same thing. Jungwoo stared down at them, but the lines of text danced before his eyes. Tension caught in his spine, rendering him useless.

Footsteps on carpet, just outside the door.

Jungwoo closed the drawer and straightened up just as Jaehyun stepped inside. His eyes were tired, but his smile was genuine. He also looked incredibly good in his business suit. 

All at once, he was glad that he hadn’t had a chance to look at anything else in the desk.

“Hey, Jungwoo!” Jaehyun said, brightly. “How do you like it here, huh? Isn’t it everything I said it would be?”

“That’s Mr. Kim to you,” Jungwoo said, haughtily. He folded his hands on the desk and glared over them at Jaehyun. “Go fetch me a cup of coffee, secretary.”

Jaehyun laughed. “I would, sir, but I’m sure I could find something better to keep you awake. A movie, perhaps.”

“What kind of movie is going to keep me awake?” Jungwoo asked, tilting his head.

“A scary one.”

He blinked a little and set his hands down flat on the desk. “We’re going to see a horror movie?”

Jaehyun nodded. “I’m a bit of a connoisseur, actually. It’s my favorite genre. I can’t remember the name of this one we’re about to go see, but it’s about the UFO lights over Phoenix.”

“Like… that was a real thing?”

“The lights, yes. Aliens? Probably not.” Jaehyun pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “Do you mind handing me that bag from under the desk, boss? I have a change of clothes in there so I don’t have to go to the movies looking like an entitled brat.”

Jungwoo obediently passed over the black gym bag that he hadn’t even noticed under the desk, and Jaehyun left the room to go change. This time, he didn’t even bother looking in the drawers. He wouldn’t find anything anyway.

Jaehyun returned, looking somehow even sexier than before in just jeans and a t-shirt. He looked exactly like he should have, like a young man headed out for a casual date. 

“Let’s go, then.”

At the theater, Jaehyun bought them a popcorn to share and they settled into the theater just in time for previews, all of which were for other upcoming horror films. Jungwoo didn’t pay much attention to them, because now he had a different concern. They were sitting in the back of the theater with not many others nearby. The theater itself wasn’t half full, probably due to how long the movie had already been showing. When the lights dimmed and the movie started, they would effectively be alone. That meant he was going to be expected to fool around. At least, that was all he had ever done with Lucas when they sat in the back of a theater together.

His stomach went tense with nerves. It must have showed on his face because Jaehyun turned toward him. “You doing okay?” he whispered.

“Fine,” Jungwoo whispered back.

_Even finer, and also less fine, if you start kissing me._

The last trailer ended and the lights dimmed. The movie started…

And played, and nothing happened in the back row of the theater where Jungwoo and Jaehyun were sitting. The arm rest between them was up, but the boundary between seats was never crossed. Jaehyun simply settled in with his popcorn and soda, eyes glued to the screen. At one point his arm came up and draped over the back of Jungwoo’s chair, but that was as far as he went.

Which meant that now Jungwoo actually had to watch the movie. He had been hoping against hope that the horror genre was overblown and that horror films weren’t really all that scary—a result of loving hype and hyperbole—but he quickly found that he was wrong. From the first shaky camera panning shot, he felt his blood chill and tension form at the nape of his neck.

_How am I going to get through this?_

He found himself instinctively leaning toward Jaehyun, who spared him a sideways smile and leaned over as well. His shoulder pressed up into the hollow beneath Jaehyun’s arm and against his side.

And that was how they watched the movie. Jungwoo just hoped Jaehyun couldn’t see him sometimes closing his eyes. At least, that was how they watched half of the movie. Jaehyun suddenly straightened up and placed one hand over his pocket, which was buzzing faintly but still loud enough to be heard by the other moviegoers. A few heads turned in their direction.

“Hold my popcorn,” Jaehyun whispered, passing the bag over. “I have to go take this.”

“Oh… okay.”

Jungwoo watched him hurry off down the theater steps and out through the exit. Now he was going to have to watch this by himself, without the safety net of another’s presence. The fact that there were others in the theater didn’t really help. They weren’t close enough, and he didn’t know them.

He lasted for three minutes before giving up. He would just use checking up on Jaehyun as an excuse for his inability to handle what was probably actually a pretty tame film.

Still, he thought he felt the judgmental gazes of the others in the theater as he scurried out.

The light in the hall of the theater was almost blinding compared to the stifling darkness. Jungwoo blinked rapidly, looking around to see if he could find Jaehyun. He was nowhere to be seen, however.

_Wonder if he went to take a leak? Should I…_

If he didn’t check the bathroom, he risked looking like an idiot by making a big deal out of nothing. But if he did, he ran the risk of catching a glimpse of Jung Jaehyun’s Jr., and he wasn’t sure how that would end.

Just a peek, then. Not at Jung Jr., but into the bathroom.

Feeling as much of a creeper as he possibly could, Jungwoo skulked toward the men’s room and padded quietly down the short-tiled hall to the corner. Keeping his ears peeled for any others who might stumble upon him acting so weirdly, he poked his head around and then immediately pulled it back again. The quick glimpse was more than enough. Jaehyun stood leaning over the sink, face dripping with water as he fumbled for a paper towel.

“Did you fall in?” Jungwoo asked, approaching. He grabbed a towel from the holder he passed and pressed it into his companion’s hand. 

Jaehyun grinned his thanks and scrubbed his face dry. “I’m glad I didn’t. Their janitor needs to do a better job in here.”

Jungwoo made a face, making an effort not to look at the line of open stalls behind them, or the wall of urinals. “Everything okay? You left kind of suddenly.”

After all the other man’s openness, the last thing he expected was for a mask to fall across Jaehyun’s features. It wasn’t a very convincing mask, allowing the stress beneath to still be seen, but it was still a mask. “I’m fine,” Jaehyun snapped. Jungwoo flinched, about to put his hands up in submission, but Jaehyun had already softened again and was shaking his head. “Sorry. That was kind of abrupt of me, wasn’t it? It was just my head bothering me. I guess I’m tired after working all day.”

_Lucas never apologizes for snapping at me._

“It’s okay,” Jungwoo said. He crossed the space between them and lifted one hand to pat Jaehyun’s shoulder. His fingers tingled, but he didn’t ignore it this time. Instead, he left his hand where it was and let the tingles happen. “You’re allowed to be tired. You aren’t invincible.”

“Ha. I think you’re the only person in the world who’s ever told me that.” A bitter look crossed the blond man’s face. “My… advisor… thinks I shouldn’t be getting into a relationship at all. Not that I’m saying we’re in one. I hope you get the point.”

“I get it,” Jungwoo said. He didn’t want to let go. He tightened his grip on Jaehyun. “I think we’ve missed enough of the movie so that there isn’t really a point going back in. Let’s get out of here.”

They walked out of the restroom together, somehow finding their hands clasped together between them. Neither said a thing about it. 

“Do you want me to take you back to your car?”

Jungwoo shook his head, tilting it back to look up at the sky. The city lights prevented stars from ever showing their brightness, but the darkness was so full of blinking planes and helicopters that it hardly mattered. “I don’t think I want to go back yet. Isn’t there anything else we can do?”

“I think there might be a park nearby, although not really a big one. I think it’s called Paley or something.”

“Is it smart to go walking so late at night?”

“Is this a bad time to tell you that I’m always packing heat?”

Jungwoo looked over at Jaehyun, sitting there behind the steering wheel with a serious look on his face. He couldn’t help himself. “Your dick doesn’t count as a weapon.”

It was a good thing traffic was low; Jaehyun slammed his foot on the brake and then leaned forward, shoulders jerking with laughter. He couldn’t seem to get a breath, the sound hitching in his throat. Jungwoo laughed too, caught up in the funny sounds the other made. It felt so good to joke that he didn’t regret a thing.

Lights from an approaching car drifted up the street behind them, urging Jaehyun to move on again. His breath still shook, shoulders still jumping slightly. “Goddamn,” he said. “You don’t even know what caliber…” He stopped himself and shook his head. “I was going to make you laugh and everything when I pulled out this tiny pocket knife I carry around, but you beat me to it. Thank you, Jungwoo.”

“Thank you for thinking you can protect me from a gang with a tiny pocket knife,” Jungwoo teased. “I like a confident man.”

“It’s not exactly in a bad part of town, so we’ll be okay.”

“Sometimes I think it’s all a bad part of town. Town is just bad in general.”

Jaehyun didn’t comment on that for a moment. Then he shrugged. “It’s not the location, or even the people. It’s some people, you know. But I don’t really want to talk about this.”

“Do you feel like talking about business?”

“Why would I want to?” Jaehyun’s voice gained that sharp edge again. “I’ve done nothing but be a businessman all day. I want to just be a man right now.”

“I thought it just might help you relax a little bit if you talk about what’s bothering you,” Jungwoo said, backpedaling rapidly. 

“I appreciate it, but no. And look. We’re here.”

Paley Park was the definition of small. It was a few walkways around a thick, tight stand of trees, which all wrapped around a cobblestone area with tables set up inside. Jaehyun got out of the car and headed off immediately down the nearest path, and Jungwoo hurried after him. He grabbed for the other man’s hand… and was completely taken aback when Jaehyun gripped him tightly, crushing his fingers. It was a surprise more than it hurt, and his mouth opened to let out a startled squeak.

The sound never had a chance to escape. Rough, furious lips crashed down against his, pressing hard. Jaehyun had him by both wrists now, snaring him as his lips attacked.

Jungwoo willingly gave in to the assault, closing his eyes just as they started to roll back in his head. His hands tingled. His blood pounded in his ears, pounding through his body; tingles were carried in on the flow, culminating in the areas where his pulse was strongest. He was on fire; flame and desire and need. His mouth opened for Jaehyun, letting his wet, burning tongue in. When a thigh pressed firmly between his legs, he pressed eagerly against it and started thrusting his hips forward to rub his swollen member on the other. Jaehyun’s scent wreathed around him, so powerful he didn’t know how he never noticed it before. 

His hands were released suddenly, as he felt Jaehyun hold his ass and pull him in even tighter into the embrace. Their tongues fought between them, feverish with need. 

Raising his arms, Jungwoo wrapped them around the other man’s neck and then started to slide his fingers down his spine.

And then he was gasping in air, while Jaehyun backed away with his chest heaving. Disappointment pulsed through his entire body. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Jaehyun gasped out. “No. I just need to make sure you wanted that. Last time…”

Jungwoo moved back toward him, led by the shaft in his pants that stuck straight out in front of him. “I wanted it. I—”

But, Jaehyun held up one hand, stopping him. “I’m glad. I’m so glad. I just… I’m not thinking clearly right now. I want to do this slowly. And right.”

_Nothing about this will ever be right._

Turmoil rose up inside Jungwoo, choking him. The fire inside him, once stoked and blazing, was banked again. His heartbeat slowed. “Is there someone else?”

He actually cared about that answer. He was also fully aware of the irony.

“No!” Jaehyun said, so fervently that he could only be believed. “Jungwoo, I’ve never wanted anyone but you this way before. I’ve had sex but you’re something else.”

Jungwoo’s heart swelled in his chest. The fire was back, but behind his eyes now in a new form of moisture. “Then what’s the problem?”

“I’ll explain to you when I’m ready. And that’s all I’m going to say.”

It wasn’t good enough, but it was going to have to be. Jungwoo just nodded in response, and was rewarded with another kiss. This one was slow and tender, accompanied by a hand that cupped his cheek. He savored it, eyes closed.

“I think we should go back to the car,” Jaehyun murmured. His breath was hot. “And get you back to your car so you can head home.”

“Jaehyun… are we okay?”

Those dark eyes distinctly manifest the intent behind them. Though they shouldn’t have been, they were okay.


	12. Break The Rules

If a man’s home is his castle, Jaehyun’s was in desperate need of a team of maids. His natural inclination to be messy was something he had worked on endlessly while forming his company. It was Irene, who had been with him almost since the beginning, who helped implement the systems he used in order to keep everything organized. Still, she was always the one who kept him on track.

He had nothing like that in his personal life. Add onto that the fact that he was a busy man, and he tended to seriously neglect his housekeeping. The sink was full of dishes, and the carpets needed vacuuming. Crumbs covered the top of the coffee table, and he had quite a few lightbulbs that needed changing. While he didn’t exactly live in filth, it occurred to him every time he had to wash out a new coffee mug that he might want to get a schedule sorted out for this aspect of his life too. 

Especially if, someday, Jungwoo came over. How embarrassing would it be to have that professional other, that meticulous man, wading through this cesspool of a bachelor’s apartment? Then again, that would be almost like a lie. Jaehyun lived this way. It was nothing to be too ashamed of, was it?

There was a lot of time to get that figured out, however. Jungwoo wasn’t going to come over so soon, and Jaehyun wasn’t going to force him. You didn’t drag a unicorn to sex, you let him come to it on his own terms.

The microwave in the kitchen beeped incessantly, informing him that his popcorn was done. Grabbing a red mixing bowl off the counter, Jaehyun poured the contents of the bag inside and then headed back into the living room. Setting the bowl down on the aforementioned coffee table, he started to sit down on his couch to resume watching the news.

Just as his rear touched the cushions, there was a knock at his door. He looked up, already standing again.

_Who could that be?_

Curiosity overtaking him, he said, “Coming,” and strode over to the door to open it.

Jungwoo stood there, his face gone entirely the shade of a beetroot. “You will soon,” he croaked out, and then covered his face with one hand. “Oh, god. That was terrible.”

“Yeah,” Jaehyun agreed. “It really was. Maybe you should come back and try again.”

Jungwoo turned around, clearly taking his advice seriously. Jaehyun laughed and reached out, catching the other man by the shoulder and turning him back around. “Jungwoo. Please. Come in.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to interrupt anything.” 

Even while he spoke, Jungwoo was walking into the apartment and looking around. Jaehyun did so as well and caught a glimpse of his surroundings from the perception of a newcomer. Nice furniture, terrible presentation. He winced. “Sorry about the mess. My maid is sick this week and, uh…”

Jungwoo ignored him, wandering over to the windowsill and picking up a figurine. Jaehyun had a thing for mice. They were adorable, petite, and yet surprisingly athletic. They were his choice of pet as a child; although he no longer had time for animals, he still remembered fondly the way they used their little paws like hands, and the varied color of their furry pelts. The figurine was one of many mice-related objects he kept around his home, although this one was different in that it wore a pink tutu.

“Does this belong to your maid?” Jungwoo asked. He held the little brown mouse almost reverently, running one finger around the edge of the tutu.

“I have a confession,” Jaehyun said. “There is no maid. I like mice. And dancing.”

“And horror movies.” Jungwoo set down the mouse again, adjusting its position with one finger. “You are a man of very peculiar tastes.”

“I think they call that being gay these days.”

The joke fell flat. Jungwoo didn’t even so much as crack a pity smile as he turned to face Jaehyun, whose stomach went tense with nerves, although he immediately forced himself to relax again. Whatever happened was going to happen, and he had best accept it.

“You know, I thought a lot about some stuff you said,” Jungwoo began. “About taking stuff slow.”

“Alright. And?”

Jungwoo stepped in very close, looking up. Light from the floor lamp over in the corner slashed across his gaze, revealing deep rings of oak brown in those dark irises. “And,” he whispered, “I’ve decided that’s bullshit. I don’t want to take things slow. I want to… I want to be with you.”

There was so much weight behind those words. Immense weight. Jaehyun’s heart swelled and his breath cut short. His eyes went wide. “You do?”

Jungwoo nodded. “I really do. I’ve never… had anyone treat me the way you do. It’s just… Jaehyun, there’s stuff I haven’t been telling you.”

Jaehyun nodded slowly. He realized that he had known that, even without having realized it. It seemed they both had secrets.

“And I need to tell you. I just… I don’t know how yet. It’s really important, and—”

If there was ever a time to interrupt, it was now. Jaehyun reached out and placed his hands on Jungwoo’s shoulders, lowering his head slightly to touch their foreheads together. “Will it change the outcome?”

“Huh?”

“What you have to tell me. Will it change things in the end?”

Understanding dawned in those dark eyes. “It might. But it doesn’t change what I want. What I think you want.”

“Will not telling me be physically painful? Will someone be hurt, physically?” That was an important distinction, the difference between physical and emotional pain. If someone’s body was at risk, he couldn’t allow that to happen.

“No,” Jungwoo replied. “Not physically. Maybe not at all. It’s hard to tell. I think I know, and then I don’t.”

Jaehyun nodded, pulling back slightly but not releasing the man in his hands. “Then, I’m not going to push you. I said I never would. I can encourage you, but I won’t push. This thing you have to tell me, you can tell me whenever you can. I’ll remember that you wanted to tell me sooner, and I will remember this conversation. I won’t hold it against you. I promise.”

Time dragged on for a moment before Jungwoo nodded. “Okay. As long as you promise to remember.”

“I will. Cross my heart.”

Warmth surrounded him as Jungwoo wrapped his arms around his neck, clinging on tightly. Their bodies lined up almost perfectly, which meant their hips were pressed together. Jaehyun swallowed hard, his arms around Jungwoo’s waist. He willed himself not to think about what was right in front of him, within very easy reach. He willed himself to do better than this, turning a touching moment into something sexual. This special man in his arms deserved better.

“Jaehyun? You’re poking me.”

He turned his head, blushing just as Jungwoo had when he first entered the apartment. Everything suddenly clicked together. “Isn’t that what you wanted when you came over here?”

Jungwoo looked down, but not before Jaehyun saw a glimmer in his eyes. “Well, I was hoping the poking would be done in a bedroom.”

“Well, it’s right down that hallway. Walk in front of me, so I can look at your ass.” It was a different side of him coming out now, the side that picked up hot men at the park and took them home. The difference now was that he wouldn’t be seeing Jungwoo walk away from him when they were done, and that was equal parts terrifying and erotic.

Jungwoo gave a fleeting grin, eagerness and anticipation and worry in his eyes. He did just what Jaehyun asked of him, heading off down the hallway. Jaehyun grinned at the back of his head and then looked down, appreciating the way his ass moved beneath the fabric of his jeans.

“You know, I kind of miss that suit of yours.”

“Oh God, please don’t mention the suit. I had just managed to block that from my memory.” Jungwoo glanced into a doorway. “I see your bedroom is decorated in the same style as the rest of your house.”

“I’m nothing if not consistent,” Jaehyun joked. He broke his gaze away from Jungwoo’s ass, which would have been difficult if he hadn’t decided to take his shirt off at that moment. Fabric blocked his eyes as he pulled his shirt up and over, throwing it to the side. 

“Oh,” Jungwoo gasped.

Jaehyun looked at him and smiled wide, breathing deeply because he knew it made his muscles flex. He always kept his body in good shape, although he never went overboard with it like that asshole Lucas Wong. There was more to his life than an intimidating appearance, but he did like to look like someone who could be depended on. That meant, to him, being toned and confident.

He stood there now, enjoying Jungwoo’s attention and feeling his eyes like a physical caress. “Your turn.”

Jungwoo turned his head away slightly and grabbed at the hem of his shirt, tossing it away. Jaehyun pulled in a deep breath, feeling his groin tighten and fill with heat. The front of his jeans tented out at the sight of the man before him, skin revealed like never before.

“You’re wonderful,” Jaehyun breathed. He moved forward and wrapped his hands around Jungwoo’s tiny waist again, kissing him once more. He took his time this time, letting his tongue be played with. As their lips pressed together, he slid his hands around to the front of Jungwoo’s jeans and undid his buttons and slid his zipper down slowly. Jungwoo let out a very soft purring sound, arching his back slightly and letting his fingers slip up through Jaehyun’s hair.

“I’m not that wonderful,” he breathed, as his jeans puddled on the floor.

Jaehyun leaned into him and kissed him harder for only a moment, urging him into silence. “But you are,” he replied. His fingers went down beneath the other’s waistband, tugging his darkly-colored boxers down just past the curve of his hip and even lower. He encountered a soft trail of curly hairs that led to a thicker, coarser patch. And beneath that, softness again. 

He brushed his fingers against the delicate skin of Jungwoo’s inner thighs, his groin. Everything in him ached to touch the prize right there, to take it and stroke it and make it his, but he took his time exploring the rest of him as far as he could touch. He played with those thighs, and circled around behind to play with his ass cheeks and to slide a teasing finger between them. That made Jungwoo gasp and reach back, clamping his hands around his wrists.

“I’m not ready for that yet,” Jungwoo breathed.

Jaehyun looked into his eyes and pulled at his lower lip, tugging on it. “But you want it?”

“Yes. I want it. I want everything.”

Jaehyun held him tightly, feeling that hardness between them rubbing together. His swollen dick ached, trapped as it was still beneath his own clothes. “And it won’t be your first time?”

“No.” But Jungwoo looked up at him with eyes full of moisture, tears brimming. “But it will be my first time with you. And that makes it special.”

Tears pressed behind his own eyes at the words. “You’re special to me. You know that, don’t you?”

Beyond words now, Jungwoo nodded. And now that they weren’t speaking, Jaehyun knew it was time to move forward with the rest of the show. 

Releasing Jungwoo just enough to get his hands up between them, Jaehyun slowly guided him backward and pushed him down onto his back on the bed. He stood there for a moment, taking in the form of the other with his legs spread, his dick erect, and every other muscle in his body trembling. Then he shed his own jeans and underwear until they were both naked. He saw Jungwoo blink slightly when he saw Jaehyun’s dick, expression unreadable.

_I wonder if he’s seen bigger, or if I’m nothing impressive._

Tossing his pondering aside, Jaehyun planted his hands on the mattress and crawled up on top of Jungwoo. Their dicks pressed together between them, thighs meeting hard. He stayed where he was for a moment to let Jungwoo get used to his weight and presence, and then he held Jungwoo’s hands down on the mattress at his side and began.

He began where he suspected no other man ever had, using his tongue and mouth and lips to worship the other’s body. He kissed every place he could reach, running his tongue along curves and nibbling daintily at edges. His tongue curled around each nipple individually, savoring the texture and shape. He kissed the soft fuzz of chest hair, working all the way to that trail of hair further down. He treated each inch of soft skin as though he had never experienced such a thing before, but he bypassed Jungwoo’s cock again and paid attention only to his thighs and the area around it. His eyes were closed, fully immersed in the other’s changing scent and the feel of him.

And through it all, Jungwoo writhed and whimpered with gentle pleasure. His reactions were far more than what Jaehyun’s actions called for, in his perception. The other man already seemed on the verge of shaking apart, he was so caught up in his own need. And the lower Jaehyun descended, the harder that shaking grew. Jungwoo began to struggle, his back arching as his ass pressed down against the mattress beneath him. The tendons in his arms bulged, wrists jerking in an attempt to break free.

And then he did break free somehow, or maybe Jaehyun let him go. They were, at that point, nearly one and the same. It was hard to tell what feelings belonged to whom, when their hearts pounded as one.

Jungwoo grabbed at Jaehyun’s hair with his free hand. His eyes were glassy, gone sexy-hazy. “Stop teasing me,” he grunted. “I can’t take anymore. I’ll burst.”

“What do you need, honey?” Jaehyun asked. He laid his cheek on the other’s thigh, letting his hot breath hit that rigid cock. He was certain that his own eyes were just as hazy, just as full of a need to move on. “Tell me what you want.”

“Uh…” Jungwoo suddenly moaned, his cock twitching.

_Note to self: he likes sexy talk._

“Do you want your cock sucked?” Jaehyun continued. He was aware of the fact that he was shaking now too. “You want me to suck you off?”

Two hands in his hair now, tangling. They pulled, trying to move him. Jaehyun felt the direction in which he was being tugged and grinned, eagerly giving in to the demand. He snuggled his cheek over closer to Jungwoo’s dick, letting a hot gust of his breath precede his touch. His lips brushed against soft skin stretched taut over the hard, hot organ and then his tongue slid out between them to have a taste of salty, slickness.

Jungwoo squeaked.

Without moving his head, or his mouth, Jaehyun looked up. Jungwoo bit his lip, his eyes shut tight with his eyebrows drawn together. He looked every inch a man who was struggling to hold onto his last bit of will. Resisting orgasm had never looked so beautiful.

“You can cum if you want.” Jaehyun spoke with his lips moving gently up and down the length of that shaft. It was as thin as the rest of its owner, just the perfect size to go down his throat. “It won’t be the only time you do tonight.”

“I don’t need…”

Before Jungwoo could finish, Jaehyun pounced. He slid his hands down beneath Jungwoo’s ass, lifting him up; at the same time, he brought his mouth around and up so that perfect cock would slam deep into his mouth and down the back of his throat. He was ready for it and accepted it eagerly, pulling it in as deep as it would go.

The half-finished sentence became a shrill cry. Ass muscles tensed in Jaehyun’s hand, a shiver running up and down Jungwoo’s spine. The shiver became a spasm, and the spasm became a shuddering series of jerks that sent hot fluid down the back of Jaehyun’s throat.

He took as much as he could and then pulled his mouth away from the softening organ to swallow what he’d managed to keep. The rest spilled down the corner of his mouth. Straightening up slightly, he looked down at his partner.

Jungwoo had gone slack and limp, his mouth slightly open as he struggled to catch his breath. When he managed to open his eyes, Jaehyun grinned and then wiped away the dribble from the corner of his mouth with the pad of his thumb. Then, he licked his thumb.

“You’re crazy,” Jungwoo whispered. He closed his eyes again, still breathing as though it was a new concept to him. “You’re the craziest man in the whole entire world. I can’t believe…” He stopped, and then shook his head. “Jae…”

“Want to keep going?”

“Please? I didn’t know this could happen.”

For a moment, Jaehyun had no idea what he was talking about. And then he realized that the other’s cock, limp and spent, was trying to rise and harden once again. Warmth rose up in his chest, forming a soft halo around his heart. He would get to keep his promise of cumming more than once after all.

He wrapped his hand around the rising cock, feeling it move within his grasp. “It won’t happen every time. But this is a special time, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

That was all. A simple yes. No embellishment needed. Jaehyun liked that about the man beneath him. 

And so he treated Jungwoo to another orgasm, stroking his cock until it was as long and hard as it would ever be. Veins stood out from the pale skin, blue streaks like beautiful tattoos; in contrast, the tip was angry red from pressure and aching need. Jungwoo gave up on speaking again, moaning and whimpering. His hips bucked to Jaehyun’s rhythm for several minutes, the edge of his need having been taken off from before so that now he was able to actually enjoy what was happening to him.

Sensing that his companion needed a bit of help in getting fully over the edge, Jaehyun gently slid a finger of his free hand between those supple ass cheeks. He explored gently, taking his time pressing against that soft spot between dick and opening before finding the other’s loosened pucker. Rubbing it softly, he didn’t try to enter. 

He didn’t need to.

Jungwoo squealed, bucking even harder than before. This time, his hips stayed up, locked into position until he was done. He slumped down then, and Jaehyun knew that he wouldn’t be able to recover for another go at it.

So, he did what he wanted to do for a very long time, and curled up behind the other to wrap him in his arms and legs. 

“What… about you?” 

Jaehyun smiled against the back of Jungwoo’s neck. He sounded so sleepy; so adorable. So innocent, exactly like a pure and sweet unicorn who had never known harm. At least, who had never known someone was attempting to harm him. “I can wait. Tonight was all about you and I… don’t want to rush things.”

“I’ve never cum so hard before,” Jungwoo admitted. His voice was shy, and Jaehyun could see color creeping into his ears from his blush. “And never twice in a row like that.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“Huh.” Jaehyun kissed the top of his head and held him tighter. His chest ached at the sweetness of it all. Other parts of him ached as well, especially since he was denying himself, but he ignored those feelings. “Those other people you’ve been with must not have known how to treat their men.”

A lot of other men would have then spoken on their past experiences, but Jungwoo kept quiet. That told Jaehyun there was more to the story, although he had already known that. 

“What do we do now?”

“Now?” Jaehyun chuckled and gave Jungwoo another kiss. “Now you go to sleep and maybe I’ll treat you to something else in the morning. Unless you’re going to leave me all alone in this bed?”

Jungwoo let out a soft laugh, which turned into a sigh. “I don’t think I could get up if I wanted to. Not with the way you’re crushing me.” He belied what he said by tucking his ass back against Jaehyun’s lap, snuggling in even deeper into the embrace. Sleep was not long in coming, as his breathing slowed and soon became peaceful.

And still Jaehyun waited, fully awake. He waited while Jungwoo sank deep into dreams, and then he waited even longer. Only when he had waited for as long as he possibly could did he finally move, slowly pulling away from the other man in his bed. Jaehyun rolled over onto his stomach and lifted his ass up into the air. There was lube on the nightstand and he spread a liberal amount on his fingers before bringing them back to his own opening, and slowly pressing them inside. He brought himself off quickly, pushing his face into his pillow to stifle the sound and make sure Jungwoo didn’t awaken and feel guilty.

Even just masturbating next to another felt somehow special, something to be cherished. 

Spent now, Jaehyun curled up with Jungwoo again and fell asleep.


	13. I Know You Want

“Mmm…”

Jungwoo moved his hips, thrusting slowly. Hot pleasure surged through the lower half of his body, making his leg muscles tense and his toes curl. He gripped at the mattress, bunching up the sheets in two tight fists. His back arched slightly. Wet heat surrounded his swollen dick, moving up and down with the motion of his hips. 

_I haven’t ever had a dream like this before…_

Moaning again, Jungwoo bucked his hips more vigorously. 

He was treated to a soft grunt in response, and a low pulse of laughter that shook him straight through his dick and deeper inside to his very core. “I guess that’s what I get for trying to wake you up nicely.”

Jungwoo’s eyes snapped open with shock. “Not a dream?” he gasped.

Jaehyun looked up at him, rubbing the side of his face. “Not a dream. A dream would be sexier than being stabbed in the eye with your dick. It’s a really nice dick but I didn’t want that much of a close-up.”

Jungwoo released his tense grip on the bed, pushing himself up to a sitting position. He squinted a little, trying to make sense of what was happening. Jaehyun had been sucking him while he slept, clearly wanting to do something special. A blush heated his cheeks and he turned his head away, looking over at the wall. Light filtered in from behind the curtains, strong enough to be long past dawn. He wondered exactly what time it was, since he didn’t see a clock anywhere.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I was just surprised, is all.”

Jaehyun sat up, and Jungwoo felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders as he realized that he wasn’t angry. “It’s okay,” he said. “I don’t regret it. My eye really hurts, though.”

Jungwoo leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Jaehyun’s sore eye. “If it falls out, you would make a really sexy pirate.”

“Yeah?” Jungwoo tasted Jaehyun’s soft lips, pressed against his. “Maybe that’s what I should do if this whole real estate thing doesn’t work out.”

“Speaking of that, what time do you need to be going off to your job?”

“Whenever I want,” Jaehyun said, firmly. “I want to finish what I started with you. If that’s okay?”

Jungwoo sighed. He wanted that very much and his dick was still rock-hard and begging for action, but he knew there were more important things to be done. His soul-searching had led him to the conclusion that Jaehyun was everything he had ever wanted. The flaws with Lucas weren’t exactly flaws, but now that he thought about it objectively, Jungwoo realized that the man often made him do things that he wasn’t comfortable with. Jaehyun never had.

Lucas was brisk and often impersonal. Jaehyun had built his entire business on being friendly.

Lucas demanded sex whenever he wanted it. Jaehyun had made sure that he owned up to his mistakes when he made them, and learned from them; when it came time to actually have sex, he had communicated.

Lucas had forced him into this whole venture with an ultimatum: “Spy on my rival or I won’t ever marry you.”

And, perhaps most importantly, Lucas had spread lies about Jaehyun… and hadn’t listened at all to the truth. That was the last straw. And now, with the camel’s back broken, Jungwoo was going to set everything to right. After he did, he would tell Jaehyun everything that had happened. Jaehyun would understand. He always did.

“I actually think I should get going. And I would hate to keep you from your business. Your employees need you.”

Jaehyun flashed a wicked grin and lightly rubbed the tip of Jungwoo’s cock before pulling his hand away. “You need me too. But I appreciate your thoughtfulness, and you’re right. I shouldn’t neglect what I’ve worked so hard for.”

And neither should Jungwoo. 

“Hey, I just remembered. There’s going to be a party at Tribeca Rooftop on Saturday. Business casual. Would you come with me?”

Jungwoo blinked a little bit. He hadn’t heard Lucas talk about going to a party at Tribeca. “For business?”

“No, no.” Jaehyun shook his head and reached out to take hold of Jungwoo’s hands, clasping them between his. “I’m sure there will be a lot of high-profile people there, but it’s more of a social event than a business opportunity. I was invited a month ago but I didn’t have anyone to be my plus one. Would you go with me?”

He didn’t even have to think about it. He nodded eagerly. “I would love to. Thank you!” Normally, such a large party would put him on edge but he knew he would be okay with Jaehyun there.

The man before him suddenly seemed uncharacteristically shy. Jungwoo tilted his head, watching him. Then, Jaehyun took a deep breath and held Jungwoo’s hand even tighter, almost painfully. “I wanted to know if you would go with me as… as my boyfriend?”

_Oh._

Jungwoo pulled one hand away, laying it on his chest with shock. His thoughts buzzed. Everything around him went hazy. His eyes unfocused. Jaehyun’s boyfriend?

His silence must have worried the other, because Jaehyun leaned back and bit his lip, looking nervous. “You don’t have to. It’s just that I haven’t even thought about seeing anyone since I met you. We can call ourselves whatever you want, just as long as I get to keep seeing you.”

Now Jungwoo bit his own lip, thinking rapidly. His heart was pounding in his chest, making the buzzing of his thoughts even worse. The party was on Saturday, and Jaehyun wanted Jungwoo to be all his on that day and forever after. 

_Today is Thursday._

That was plenty of time to catch Lucas and break up with him. Jungwoo couldn’t see a way where the outcome of this wouldn’t be what he wanted. Soon, all these secrets and lies would be over and they could all be happy. Well, except with Lucas, even though Jungwoo had done exactly what he wanted. 

“Okay,” he said firmly, and leaned forward to kiss Jaehyun as hard as he could. Their lips pressed together roughly, tongues playing between them. “I want to go with you. I want to be yours, forever.”

Jaehyun blinked again, looking astonished, and then he smiled so wide and sweet that it made Jungwoo’s chest ache. “You will? I’m so happy!”

Jungwoo pressed his face to Jaehyun’s shoulder as he was embraced, his heart still hammering while the other’s beat calm and soothing against him. Only a few more days. Everything would be over.

After a moment of deliberation, it was decided that Jungwoo would shower first. He paused on the way to the bathroom after finding his clothes from where they had been strewn across the room, glancing back over his shoulder at Jaehyun. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”

“I would, but then we would never get anywhere.” Jaehyun waved him away, and Jungwoo knew that he was right. Nevertheless, he put some sway in his hips for the rest of the way and was rewarded with a soft moan from behind. He had forgotten how good it felt to actually have control over how he made someone feel. Lucas had stopped paying attention to Jungwoo’s flirting a long time ago, something like two years. That was another thing he had realized after thinking everything through.

He showered quickly and dressed again just as fast. As he was toying with his hair in the mirror—and regretting a lack of hair products—he spied a toothbrush and a travel-sized tube of toothpaste on the sink. After brushing his teeth and poking some more at his hair, he emerged from the bathroom again to find Jaehyun sitting on the bed. The man looked as pleased as a peach. 

“You took a peek when you brought that toothbrush in, didn’t you?” Jungwoo accused.

Jaehyun threw his head back and laughed. “You caught me. I just wanted to see what you looked like when you were all soapy and wet. I love your skin. It’s such soft and flabby as used elastic.”

Jungwoo scowled at him, planting his hands on his hips. “You need to work on that whole complimenting thing.”

“I’ll schedule that in,” Jaehyun promised. Standing, he crossed the carpet to take Jungwoo into his arms. They kissed, relishing in the touch of each other. “Text me as you can. Actually, text me as much as you can. Save me from the monotony of my day.”

“I will.” Jungwoo pulled out of the embrace and smiled into the eyes of the man who had just changed the course of his life. He knew everything would be okay now. He just knew it. Nothing could go wrong.

He left the apartment and took Lucas’s car back to his own building. About halfway there, his confidence started to fail him. There was no way Lucas was going to take this well. The best thing to do was catch him at a good time… but they had been together so long that Jungwoo knew Lucas was over-the-top and fully committed to everything he ever did, no matter the time of day. He woke up aggressively and went to sleep with the firmness of a man who was confident in his work output.

The solution was to take Lucas by surprise then, but Lucas didn’t like any surprises. 

_Stop trying to fool yourself into thinking that there’s going to be an easy way out of this,_ he scolded himself. _There isn’t. It’s going to be rough but it’s necessary._

He opened the door.

Lucas spoke from the couch. “I read your note.”

Jungwoo had left a note the night before for when his boyfriend awoke, explaining where he had gone and why. 

“And?” Jungwoo said, nervously. His heart jumped up in his throat, lodging so firmly that he feared it was there to stay. Every inch of his body jumped with his pulse, and his stomach churned angrily. 

Before he had time to react, Lucas launched up off the couch and grabbed Jungwoo in his strong arms. Jungwoo let out a terrified squeak and shut his eyes tightly, bracing for some sort of punishment, but what happened was worse than that: Lucas kissed him hard and rough, lavishing attention upon his lips as though there was no gap between them. 

“I love your commitment,” Lucas growled. His eyes blazed with a brutal confidence, as they always did. For some time Jungwoo had resented that look without even knowing it. No one person could be right every single second of every day. “I bet you didn’t have much time to investigate his apartment, or his office, but if you keep this up he’ll get so comfortable with you that you can do anything you want. You’ll have Jung Jaehyun wrapped around your little finger. What do you feel about that, babe? My main competitor and you’re going to rip him to shreds!”

“But, Lucas,” Jungwoo started. His irritation forced the words out for him, otherwise he never would have spoken out of sheer terror of being crushed. Those powerful arms gripping him were happy, and yet they still hurt. Some real damage could be done if Lucas willed it.

But his voice cracked and was lost. Lucas didn’t hear him. Or, at least, he pretended not to. There were more important things on his mind, and what his boyfriend had to say wasn’t on the list. It never was.

“Babe, you got this. And I have to go to work. You’re such a babe, you know that?”

“Lucas…”

Lucas ruffled his hair with one massive hand and then released him. The drop in pressure sent Jungwoo’s heart plummeting back down from where it had been lodged in his throat, and even lower. It sank now to the pit of his stormy stomach, adrift in a sea of anxiety. “You’re such a babe,” Lucas repeated, a little firmer. He was ending the conversation, signaling he was done. Just like he always did.

Jungwoo opened his mouth again, starting to see angry flecks of red in his vision, but Lucas had already turned his back on him and was walking out the door. He slammed it behind him, and a painting jumped off the wall and cracked on the carpet. Shards of glass shimmered on the pale carpet. Jungwoo stared at the broken picture frame, and the red flickers in front of his eyes gathered together like a blazing fire. For a moment, only a moment, he imagined himself racing after Lucas and catching him just before the elevator.

“Lucas!” he would say, far firmer than the other. He would let it be known that he meant business, with squared shoulders and crossed arms. 

“What is it, babe?” Lucas would ask, looking bored and impatient.

And Jungwoo would look him right in the eyes and say, “I’m breaking up with you.”

No, that would be too forward. “We have to break up,” was a better way to go. Or, even more accurate, “This isn’t working.”

Yeah, that one was better. It placed blame on no one’s shoulders. In fact, it almost sounded like a positive thing, signaling personal growth. There was nothing wrong with their relationship, or with either of them. They simply grew apart, as people tended to do. 

Jungwoo grabbed the doorknob, and his shoulders slumped. A sigh blew from between his pursed lips. He’d waited too long. His boyfriend was already long gone, down the elevator and out into the parking lot. He would be pulling out into the street, humming under his breath and already thinking of his company. Thinking of his job, and not of whatever Jungwoo had wanted to say to him. 

Ignored, as always. And Jungwoo had let it happen. He had come home with a mission, words on the tip of his tongue, and the future right before his eyes, and he had screwed up everything. 

_I wanted to change my future, but I still haven’t changed at all._


	14. Dropping The Bomb

Tribeca Rooftops was quite the place. Jaehyun had been there once before at another party just like this one, and that was when he realized the allure of the high life. Skylights, enormous rooms, caterers that wove effortlessly through the crowd, and live classical music both in the main party room and above on the roof… Everyone was beautiful, or had enough arrogance to believe they were. Everything was perfect, with no expense spared for clothing, decorations, entertainment or food. 

The main party room was full of areas defined by patches of colored light, except for the dance floor, which was directly beneath the enormous skylight. Partygoers moved in and out of the light, reminding Jaehyun of that Edgar Allen Poe story. What was it? “The Masque of the Red Death,” where the carrier of a terrible plague infiltrated a party much like this one? That was a dark thought and he hurriedly shook it away. A story was a story, and he was no intellect to be thinking about works like that. Nothing bad could really happen in a place like this, where some of the caterers were bodyguards in disguise, and bouncers guarded all exits and entrances. This was a haven of self-indulgence, and nothing dark could disturb it.

He sat at a table all on his own, admiring the lacy floral edges of the tablecloth for the umpteenth time. 

_Maybe one day I’ll be hosting a party like this._

It was certainly tempting, imagining a future like that. Yet, on the other hand, he was realizing more and more that he had no desire to grow too large as a company. Bigger yes, but not so large that he lost the personal touch that made Jung Real Estate what it was.

Lifting up his gaze from the white tablecloth, his eyes passed over the expensive centerpiece before ending at his phone. The notification light was distinctly absent, which meant that Jungwoo hadn’t texted him since he left his apartment to head to the party. It was almost time for him to arrive, and Jaehyun could hardly wait. He knew Jungwoo would have a hard time adjusting to this atmosphere, and he wanted to be here for all of it; he wanted to be the one whose arm Jungwoo held, the one he pressed against for comfort like a timid rabbit until he realized that this could be his pasture, his home. There was charm deep inside the bookish man, if only it could be unlocked somehow.

Jaehyun closed his eyes for a moment, thinking back to their first date at the Tavern. At what point had Jungwoo emerged from his shell, and why? The answer to that was the answer to everything, he was sure.

And then, there he was. Jaehyun’s phone buzzed as his text finally arrived, but it was too late for that. Jungwoo was there, emerging through the crowd. He wore a suit jacket, and seemed slightly more comfortable with it this time. His eyes said otherwise. They were wide and rimmed with white, like a terrified stallion. 

“Jungwoo!” Jaehyun said, calling to him. He rose from the table and strode over to Jungwoo, catching him in his arms and pulling him tight against his chest. Tense muscles immediately relaxed, and Jungwoo lay his head down on him.

“I am not going to like this at all,” Jungwoo whispered.

Jaehyun slid his fingers up through the back of his lover’s hair, caressing him so that his tight neck muscles relaxed as well. “Just give it some time, okay? If you still hate it after half an hour, we can go.”

Jungwoo looked up at him with those beautiful eyes. “Half an hour. No more.”

“I promise.” Jaehyun held out his arm and Jungwoo clung to it, following along behind him as he took them both back over to the table. “What don’t you like about it?”

Jungwoo immediately picked up the name plaque and started fiddling with it. “Too many people all in one place makes me nervous.”

Filing away that information for later, Jaehyun asked, “How do you manage college?”

Jungwoo grimaced, his lip curling. “Who says I do? College still sucks. There’s a lot of people. But it’s something that I do a whole lot. I’ve gotten used to it, even though it still makes me nervous. This is something I haven’t ever done before.”

“So, you have to give yourself some time to get used to it.” Jaehyun placed one hand over Jungwoo’s nervous ones, stilling them beneath his fingers. “Besides, no one here is talking to you but me. No one’s bothering you, or even looking at you twice. Too many people in here for that.” Jungwoo still looked unconvinced, so Jaehyun tried another tactic. “Why don’t you focus on something else?”

“Like what?”

“The music, to start.”

The live music came from a rather large band that was positioned beside the dance floor, although their sound was pumped throughout the rest of the lower party room by a system of speakers. Decorations hid the paths of the wires. As it so happened, Jaehyun’s table was also near the dance floor and so they were able to catch glimpses of the band through the shifting of the crowd. 

Jaehyun always considered it an honor to watch professionals at work, especially those who could be considered artists. Making music was an art, and it was apparent when watching musicians. Their eyes danced across the sheet music like strokes of a paintbrush. Their fingers flicked. Their bodies swayed. Feet tapped. No matter whether he watched the violinist strike at the strings with the force of her whole body, or the pianist slamming his body weight down on the keys, or the flutist swaying with the beauty of his melody, it was apparent. And watching the band as a whole instead of individuals, he saw a waving ocean that rose and fell as one. They breathed together, moved together. They were beautiful.

After a minute of watching, one song came to a slow end. As if a spell was broken, the harmony of the band became discordant as they shuffled around and adjusted themselves. The dancers on the floor paused, leaving and entering and switching partners. 

Jaehyun glanced over at Jungwoo, trying to judge his reaction, but all he could see of the other was the back of his head. The trance might have ended but Jungwoo was clearly still caught up in the last fading echoes of the music. And then the music began again as the conductor instructed them to, and the next spell started. This time, the song was violin-heavy. She threw her body into the music until she was almost a dancer herself, accompanied by the pianist.

As that song ended, Jungwoo finally stirred. He lifted up his head and turned back around to look at Jaehyun. “Is the music always like this at these sorts of things?”

Jaehyun laughed and shook his head, glad that Jungwoo was enjoying himself. “Hell, no. Most of the time, it’s cheap acts from bands that are okay enough to get hired but aren’t good for much else.”

“Huh. These guys are pretty good though.”

“Of course they are. Nothing less for the Rooftop.”

A caterer drifted past, a woman in a pretty, flowing dress. She was also clearly a bodyguard in disguise. Only after a second glance were her thick forearms obvious, and there was some difference in her gaze. Her eyes were sharp, watchful, and her smile was forced. Gesturing to her, Jaehyun took two flutes of champagne from her tray and handed one to Jungwoo. 

His lover looked skeptically at the thin glass in his hand. It looked like a rose, and the liquid within was crystal amber. “Am I going to like this?”

Jaehyun sipped at his experimentally. A bit of a bite to it, but he nodded anyway. “You should,” he answered. 

From the look on his face, Jungwoo did. Almost immediately, some color rose to his cheeks. And just like that, the answer to everything revealed itself. Alcohol. Not much, as Jungwoo wasn’t a drinker, but just enough. It was so obvious, and yet not obvious at all because of who the man was as a person.

“You’re right,” Jungwoo said, looking surprised. “I do.”

Jaehyun gave his empty glasses to another passing caterer while taking two more, passing one over again immediately. Jungwoo drank that one as well, and Jaehyun decided to leave it at that and see how things went from there. 

“So, you like the music, and you like the drinks… Maybe we can get you to like the people?” Jaehyun suggested.

But the other shook his head adamantly. “No way. I’ve never liked other people.”

Jaehyun leaned forward over his hands, looking right into Jungwoo’s eyes to hold his focus in place. His gaze was much calmer than when he walked in here, warming up to the situation around him. “So, stop looking at it that way.”

Jungwoo shook his head, a funny little smile flickering around his lips. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

Spreading his hands, Jaehyun pressed on. “The party doesn’t revolve around you. No one’s noticing you. No one’s waiting for you to make a mistake. That’s not why they’re here.”

“So, why are they here?”

“Just look around you.”

Jungwoo did, skeptically. Jaehyun stood and came around the table, crouching down at his side and slinging an arm around his shoulder. “Look,” he whispered, and pointed toward a woman in a red dress surrounded by a circle of young men. “She’s a married lesbian. Her wife is in the crowd somewhere. But she loves the attention she gets from men. Lives on it.”

He pointed toward another person, a couple dancing under the skylight with stars in their eyes to replace the lack of stars in the sky. “And those two? They just got engaged and wanted to come here where the atmosphere matches their mood.”

He kept pointing, at a man laughing his head off, and a girl with square glasses and a stereotypical librarian’s bun pulled tight up on the top of her head. He said the stories behind all of them, watching as Jungwoo started to smile.

“You made all of that up, didn’t you?”

Jaehyun widened his eyes innocently. “No. Of course not.” Jungwoo pushed roughly at his shoulder, scowling. “Ow! Fine, I made it all up. Geez. You’re stronger than you look.”

“I don’t get your point, Jaehyun.”

Rubbing his shoulder, he explained. “Everyone here came out to have a good time, to follow their own purposes. They’re enjoying themselves. So, why shouldn’t you? You’re actually more likely to be noticed if you don’t.”

Jungwoo sighed and leaned his head over to lie against Jaehyun. “So, what do you suggest?”

“Dance with me.”

Jungwoo huffed. “I’ve read a book or two on the art of dance.”

“Is there any book you haven’t read?”

“Every math textbook.”

Jaehyun grinned and stood, reaching out to grab Jungwoo’s hand and pull him to his feet. “Well, I have a surprise for you. I am a dance student.”

He practically heard Jungwoo’s jaw hit the floor as it dropped. “You’re a dancer? I… never would have guessed.” His lover flicked his gaze up and down his body, and Jaehyun smiled to himself. Now that Jungwoo knew, it probably seemed obvious. Dance was the perfect exercise to make a man toned but not overly, intimidatingly muscular. 

“I have a private instructor that I see three times a week. It gives me an escape. All movement and no thought, like sex.”

Jungwoo moaned in pretend despair as Jaehyun dragged him onto the dance floor. “I’m a chronic over-thinker.”

“So don’t think,” Jaehyun teased. They held their hands between them, looking into each other’s eyes. “Just act. Move with me. A slow dance, just like prom.”

Jungwoo stepped in close so that their bodies pressed together, arms around one another. “I didn’t go to prom,” he said.

“Really?” Jaehyun started to slowly sway with him. He felt as limber and ready as always, but the man in his arms was like a plank. “What did you do prom night?”

“Same thing I did for homecoming. I stayed home and read.”

Jaehyun pressed a kiss to his cheek, the sway turning into a slow turn. “Why am I not surprised?”

Turn completed, they swayed together again. Jungwoo didn’t relax so much as he seemed to channel the band, putting his body in motion with the sound. Every bit of it was ungraceful and Jaehyun loved it. Jungwoo’s delicate, musky scent surrounded him. The soft feel of him was everywhere. They were as close as two men could ever be outside of the bedroom, and they had already been there.

Another couple passed them by, laughing and smiling. The lights made Jaehyun feel like he was drunk. Everything swam before his eyes, and he was startled to realize he was constantly blinking back tears.

_I think I could love this man._

Just as he finished the thought, they collided with someone else. “Sorry,” Jaehyun grunted.

The other man just laughed and waved them off. “You’re fine, you’re fine. Keep dancing. You’re beautiful.”

_Jungwoo is beautiful._

He couldn’t stop himself. He leaned in and pressed his lips to Jungwoo’s. They were still moving as they kissed, still dancing as their lips moved between them. Their tongues danced. Everything danced. The world was movement and light and pleasure.

For but only a moment, everything was perfect. Only perfection wasn’t meant to last.

A voice broke through the crowd, separated from the din because of how quiet it was. “Kim Jungwoo?”

Jaehyun blinked and looked up. Someone was here who knew Jungwoo? Curiosity tingled in his chest, deepening immediately into a dark dread as every last bit of Jungwoo’s relaxation went away. The thin man’s body went tight and anxious, and he pulled away from Jaehyun as he reached out for him.

_Something’s wrong._

Jaehyun turned to look, to see who had interrupted them, but he didn’t see anyone distinctly. It was the same dancing crowd; the same blur of faces. 

Then, someone stepped forward. A tall, good-looking man with shock imprinted on his face. “Kim Jungwoo?” he repeated.

Jungwoo cringed slightly away from the strange man, one hand rising as if to hide behind it. “Johnny Suh. Go away. You need to go away.”

Jaehyun saw red, an abrupt film that descended down over his eyes and took hold of his senses. He shoved his way between the two. A small hand grabbed at his shoulder from behind.

“Jaehyun, no.”

“Jaehyun?” The man named Johnny raised an eyebrow, the shocked look on his face turning to one of malice. “I can’t believe it. Jung Jaehyun and Jungwoo in his arms. Did you fly to him when Lucas wasn’t looking, you stupid fucker?”

“I broke up with Lucas,” Jungwoo said, his lips pressed together tightly.

Pain lanced up through Jaehyun’s stomach at the words. Jungwoo belonged to Lucas Wong at one point? To his rival? Why hadn’t he heard of that before now? Maybe Jungwoo didn’t even know that Jaehyun had a rival. 

“Oh, really? You did?” Johnny leaned around past Jaehyun’s shoulder to stare. “Because, last I knew, Lucas never lets anyone do anything to him. He couldn’t let me just quit. He had to fire me and force me out.”

Another piece of the puzzle. This was a former employee, seeking revenge. Yet, Jaehyun couldn’t be quite sure of that. Johnny wasn’t acting like a man out to destroy his former boss. In fact, he spoke almost reverently of the other. Something more was happening here.

“Move out of the way, Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun turned, stunned at the way he was being spoken to by the delicate man he cherished so much. Jungwoo looked furious, practically boiling alive with rage. He moved past Jaehyun, their sides brushing, and now it was Jungwoo who stood in the middle of the confrontation. 

“Lucas fired you because you were a terrible worker and you creeped him out. He told me once he thought he would need to get a restraining order. You were so inappropriate to him.”

“Really?” Johnny jabbed with a finger to make his point. “Is that what he told you? Or was he just trying to hide the fact that we had something you didn’t know about?”

This was getting far too heated, and they were attracting attention. They weren’t fighting or yelling—yet—but they were definitely attracting the attention of other partygoers. A cleared circle appeared around them, with a few bodyguards watching from the edge of the crowd. They couldn’t do anything until things got physical.

Jungwoo looked taken aback for all of three seconds before regaining his ground and shaking his head. “Yeah, no. You were a creep and sexually harassing my boyfriend, and your boss.”

“He wouldn’t have thought it was creepy if you weren’t in the way! For some fucking reason, he likes your skinny ass.”

“Well, maybe you should have a second try,” Jungwoo snapped. “I said I broke up with him.”

“You really did?” Johnny looked stunned. Everyone in the area who knew of Lucas Wong also looked stunned.

“I… I did! Yes, I did! I think you need to leave us alone now.”

Jaehyun could take the suspense no longer. He threw out one arm and caught Jungwoo, dragging him away from the dance floor and the accusing and curious stares of the other partygoers. Once they were far enough away to be forgotten, the only looks given to them were from the people they bumped into on the way out. 

Jungwoo dragged his feet the whole way, head down. His heartbeat was audible even through the empty space between them. The presence of that space pained Jaehyun immensely. It shouldn’t have been there at all, but he had to know the truth.

Once they were all the way out in the parking lot, Jaehyun pulled Jungwoo over to a random truck and leaned against it, staring at the man he thought he might love. “Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me about Lucas? That you dated someone else in this business?”

Jungwoo stared at him, raking his fingers through his hair very slowly. “Do you really think it’s that important? I’m minoring in business, that doesn’t mean I know every intimate detail of actual business and the people involved! You weren’t anything to me all that long ago.”

Another jab of pain struck Jaehyun directly in the stomach, nearly bowling him over. Nothing… how could he be nothing?

Wait.

“Jungwoo,” Jaehyun said. His voice was slow, cautious. He didn’t want to know the answer to this coming question. “Why were you at that business party when we met?”

“I told you that I got roped into it, Jaehyun.”

“By who?”

No response.

Jaehyun tilted his head back to look up at the sky full of airplanes and clouds of smog, and then he closed his eyes. “How long have you been broken up with Lucas?”

“That’s not important. What’s important is I… I did.”

And there it was again. The uncertain stammering. That had happened twice now, for the same question. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Finally, all the pieces of the puzzle were right where they should have been and Jaehyun hated the picture they made. There were too many feelings inside him to figure out, to know how he actually felt. 

“Did you?” he whispered.

“I don’t understand.”

Opening his eyes again, Jaehyun saw Jungwoo standing there, looking defeated. He looked half his usual size, slumped over and diminished. Jaehyun straightened up from the vehicle he leaned against. His heart pounded in his chest, but he forced his voice around that obstruction. 

“Did you ever break up with Lucas?”

There was no answer, and that was an answer in and of itself. 

“Let me tell you what I think,” Jaehyun said. His eyes ached from tiredness and it was all he could do to keep standing. Fatigue washed over him, all energy and light swept away by this realization. “I think you never broke up with Lucas Wong. I think he sent you to that business party to get an eye on the competition, and I fell for it. I fell for the bait. You manipulated me for him. And you would have kept doing it too, wouldn’t you? If not for that lovesick jerk back in there, you would have just kept doing it.”

There were tears on Jungwoo’s face, streaking down his cheeks. The moisture looked alive in the dark of night. “You have it all wrong, Jaehyun.”

“Tell me what I got wrong, dammit!”

“I wasn’t going to keep doing it!” Jungwoo shouted. He spread his arms, eyes beseeching and full of shame. “For the past several days, I’ve been trying to break up with him but he won’t listen to me long enough for me to actually say it.”

“Why would you bother doing that?” His face felt like ice; his words were frozen. Jaehyun was an igloo, but burning so hotly on the inside. 

“So I could be with you.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore, Jungwoo.”

The relieved look that crossed the other’s face was almost enough to kill him. “I don’t?”

“No.” Jaehyun turned his back on his lover. “You don’t. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore, so Lucas can have you all to himself.”

“Jaehyun, no! Please stay and listen to me, I can explain!”

Jaehyun started walking away, toward his car. Every step taken felt like a sprinted mile. “You hurt me. You betrayed me and lied to me, and to think that I thought you were special. I thought you were different from all the other cheaters and liars of the world, but you’re nothing at all.”

“Jaehyun, please.” Jungwoo sounded broken, and low. Physically low, as if he was crouching on the concrete. “You’re the only one who ever listened to me.”

_And I never should have in the first place._

Each step tore his heart out but Jaehyun kept walking. He left Jungwoo behind and walked the rest of the way to his car. Numb, he drove all the way to his office building and sat in the car in his spot. The parking lot was completely empty. There was no one else around, and not even a car driving past on the street. He had never felt so alone, in the aftermath of losing the one who he treasured most. 

Jaehyun turned the car off, leaned his forehead against the steering wheel, and wept. He wept like a grown man who has endured terrible things and doesn’t know how to process it, with shuddering gulps of breath and a clenched face. The muscles in his throat were tensed, utterly constricted to strangle any sound he might have made in his mourning. His eyes burned and streamed hot salt, which dripped steadily from his chin and formed a river on the steering wheel. His chest ached, yet through it all his heartbeat was steady. His heart had broken. That was the only speed possible now. No more nervous pattering or racing for joy. Only monotony.

When he was done, he dried his face as best as he could with his hands and a used McDonald’s napkin. A long sigh left his dry lips as he climbed out of the car and headed into the building.

The night guards greeted him casually, pretending not to notice his swollen red eyes. 

Irene wasn’t about to pretend anything, however. Jaehyun wasn’t exactly surprised to find her in the office at this hour, though this time she actually seemed to be working when he stumbled across her. 

“Tough break?” she asked, blandly.

“Yeah,” he croaked. “You?”

“Same. There’s fresh coffee in the break room, and I was having a pizza delivered. You’re welcome to some of my hot pepperoni, since you couldn’t get any of your own.”

The crude joke, coming at a time like this, somehow got through to him. A smile cracked across his face like a fault line. “No, the pepperoni wasn’t the problem. It was the guy attached to it.”

“It usually is,” Irene muttered. Judging from the look on her face, she’d been deep in the coffee pot herself. 

Well, at least he wouldn’t be alone. Jaehyun went to go get some coffee of his own. 


	15. Just Let Me Know

“I can’t believe you.”

_I’ve been hearing those words a lot lately._

Jungwoo hugged the toilet, leaning against it to take some of the pressure off his knees. He wandered around last night before coming home and falling into bed. Sleep crashed down like a torrent of rain, surrounding him without any sort of gradual drowsiness at all. And when he woke up again in what seemed to be the morning—the light behind the curtains hinted at some hour of day—he was hit with a roiling wave of nausea that sent him stumbling toward the bathroom. The lack of a headache told him this wasn’t a hangover. It was anxiety and despair, a horrible brew of emotions all wreaking havoc on his insides. 

After throwing up a few times, he had enough time to realize that Lucas hadn’t been in bed with him. Jungwoo lay his cheek down against the toilet seat to rest, not entirely sure that he was done. Faint words came to him, but not faint for very long. They grew louder and louder as a one-sided conversation continued, until he could just almost make out the words from within the bathroom. Then, the conversation abruptly ended right outside the bathroom door and Lucas threw himself inside.

“Jungwoo!” he had roared. His anger immediately fogged up the mirror. “You little… You… I can’t believe you.”

“Ugh,” Jungwoo groaned in response, tasting bile at the back of his nervous throat. “What?”

“You know what exactly! Running into Johnny last night… saying too much… did you even check to make sure you weren’t followed when you ran outside with that bastard Jaehyun?” Lucas slammed his hand against the wall, leaving a sizable dent. Bits of plaster clung to his flesh. “Apparently not, or else none of this would have happened?”

Fighting back another heave, Jungwoo whispered, “What happened?”

“My phone! I have dozens of emails and calls and texts. They were there when I woke up and there are even more of them now. It’s the press, wanting to know how I feel about my boyfriend cheating on me with my rival. It’s our friends, wanting a piece of you, wanting all the details. It’s my employees, it’s my parents… Everyone fucking knows! All you had to do was spy on Jung Jaehyun! How the hell did you make such a mess of it?”

Suddenly, Jungwoo couldn’t stand this any longer. Vomiting be damned. In fact, Lucas deserved it if Jungwoo was going to vomit on him. 

The two men faced each other, one burning and angry and the other paler than usual. Jungwoo stuck one finger into his boyfriend’s chest and glared up at him. The gesture was futile, like poking a tree trunk and expecting it to be swayed. “Listen here, dammit.”

“I don’t have to listen to—”

“Shut up!” Jungwoo screamed.

Lucas not only shut up but he stopped dead in his tracks. He was finally swayed, finally knocked off-balance. His mouth and throat worked but wouldn’t produce a sound.

Jungwoo took advantage of that while it lasted. His hands clenched into fists. “You asked me to do this and I wanted to do it for you because I loved you. I did spy on Jaehyun for you. I got to know him as a man. Everything I told you was true, dammit. He isn’t doing anything shady. He’s a better businessman than you are! You treat your clients like they’re business. He treats them like they’re family!”

“They are business!” Lucas snarled, but he looked almost perplexed. “That’s my job.”

“But how many clients don’t return to you because of how coldly they’re treated?” Jungwoo fired that one off without knowing whether or not there was anything to back it up. Judging by the way Lucas flinched, he’d hit a sore spot. “There are tons of people like you but only one of him. But you just didn’t listen to me when I tried to tell you that.”

Suddenly, Lucas laughed. He clutched his stomach and guffawed like some child’s nightmare version of Santa Claus. “You think you love him, don’t you? Well, if you love him so much, why don’t you just go run away to him?”

“I tried! I tried to break up with you for days but you never gave me a chance to talk!”

Jungwoo immediately regretted ever speaking. He regretted everything that led up to this, all the way back to their very first meeting on that crowded bus when they were forced to sit together. He regretted it all because of the clear snapping of Lucas’s self-control, that resilient body surging toward his and slamming him against the wall. Sour water filled his mouth as Lucas held him by the wrists, glaring into his face with their eyes only inches apart. 

“No one breaks up with me,” Lucas hissed.

Jungwoo heaved and threw up on him. Not much, but enough to make the gigantic oak of a man squeal and jerk back from him. As Lucas looked helplessly down at the front of his shirt, Jungwoo shoved past him. “We’re done,” he tossed over his shoulder.

Every part of him chose that moment to remember the fraction of the horror story that he’d started to watch with Jaehyun. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. His vision narrowed down to pinpoints, and his spine gave that dreadful tingling. At any moment, Lucas was going to come rampaging out of that bathroom to kill him. It would happen at the most cinematic moment, right as Jungwoo stepped through the door to freedom; two enormous hands would yank him back inside, and the door would close on him forever.

That didn’t happen. 

Jungwoo was out the door before he even knew it, passing down the hall and riding the elevator down to the parking lot. He instinctively headed toward the car he always took, and then abruptly swerved away from it; the way things were going, he wouldn’t put it past Lucas to become vengeful and report him for a vehicle theft.

Actually…

His footsteps slowed as realization set in. What did he have that didn’t belong to Lucas? The very clothes on his back had been bought by his boyfriend’s—ex-boyfriend, he reminded himself—credit card. He technically didn’t even own the money in his wallet, since it was an allowance. And the wallet had been given to him by Lucas. That left him with absolutely nothing in the world. And now, he had nowhere to go.

He’d started off walking again before he knew it, heading in the direction of Jaehyun’s apartment. But, no, Jaehyun would be at work. He adjusted slightly and started walking toward the real estate building now, knowing that he was probably not going to be welcome there. It was the only option though.

Jungwoo walked, trudging along with his head down. The morning was still new but this was NYC. Even weak sunlight was amplified a thousand times by all the reflective surfaces. Heat lapped over his skin, almost immediately threatening to give him a burn, and wavered up from the sidewalk to bake his face. Sweat gathered and trickled from his armpits and down his back, reminding him that he hadn’t showered or brushed his teeth, or changed clothes. He probably reeked.

_Now I know why no one is walking near me._

They might not even let him inside the real estate office, now that he thought about it. His appearance and his disloyalty to Jaehyun were heavy strikes against him. But he had nothing else to do, nowhere else to go. He couldn’t even afford a bus ticket to make the journey faster.

A full hour later, panting and ragged, he stumbled through the doors of Jung Real Estate. Sweat dripped from his face, soaking the front of his shirt in a wide ring. Oh, but the cool air conditioning flowing through the building felt like a blessing. Feeling his sweat dry, a little revived, Jungwoo looked around.

Every agent in their little office had their head up, looking right at him. No one smiled. No one waved. They all knew, and he had known they would. Squaring his shoulders, a little disgusted with the way that the garment clung damp and cold to his skin, he slogged off toward the desk where the receptionist sat. It was the same slender woman as before. Jungwoo summoned her name with difficulty: Ms. Bae. This time, she wasn’t multitasking or even working. She wasn’t doing anything but staring at him, unsmiling. Waiting.

“Hello, Ms. Bae,” he said as he neared the curved desk. He didn’t touch anything. His hands were disgusting. 

“Mr. Kim,” she replied, voice clipped. “Your name isn’t on the list. Please leave a message.”

Jungwoo squared his shoulders. Family or not, he was tired of being bossed around by people who thought they knew better. “I’m here to see Jaehyun.”

“Mr. Jung isn’t in the building. Would you like to leave a message?”

The damn girl sounded like an answering machine. “Jaehyun has to be here. Where else would he be?”

The receptionist puffed out her chest and set her shoulders, clearly mocking him. “Let me rephrase this for you so you understand better. Mr. Jung doesn’t want to see you. Any message you give me will never reach his ears. You have to leave now.”

“Ms. Bae…”

Her hand moved, sliding under the desk. He tensed up, taking a step backward. Was she armed? “If you don’t leave in five seconds, I’ll be forced to call security. I have my finger on the button.”

“Wait,” Jungwoo pleaded. His voice broke. Everything that hurt inside him came bubbling up to the surface as tears. They constricted his throat with their burning, scorched his sun-heated skin. “Please, just wait. What happened was a terrible mistake that I made and I am so, so sorry that I did. I would give anything to make it right, or even to just tell Jaehyun face to face how sorry I am. I didn’t even get to explain.”

The receptionist crossed her little arms, but she no longer looked so sure of herself. “I don’t see what you would need to explain, Mr. Kim. It all looks pretty straightforward to me.”

Jungwoo rubbed his face with his hands and sighed into them… and decided not to do that again, because it made him smell his own breath. “Look at me. Clearly, I have something to say. I want Jaehyun to hear it. And it can’t be in a message.”

Ms. Bae hesitated a good while longer, but she placed both hands back on top of the counter where there was no emergency button. “Jungwoo,” she began, “I think that you think you have something to say. But I don’t know if Mr. Jung—”

“Let Mr. Jung decide for himself,” Jungwoo growled. He thumped his fist lightly on top of the desk, leaving a salty smear on the polished surface. “He’s an adult.”

That last bit of logic was what seemed to break her. “You really will have to come back some other time though. He isn’t here.”

Jungwoo stopped. “Not here? For real?”

“Really.”

“Then where is he?”

The receptionist bit her lip, clearly debating with herself on whether or not to reveal that information. Then she sighed. “If I tell you, you have to do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“For God’s sake, don’t tell him that I’m the one who told you.”

Jungwoo lifted up one hand with his pinky raised, to make a promise, but she refused to touch him. He didn’t blame her.

“Mr. Jung is at a hospital. I don’t know which one. Don’t ask.”

Her brisk tone told Jungwoo that she did in fact know which one and just wasn’t going to spill. That was fine with him. He’d heard enough. Jaehyun was in a hospital. 

He was out the door like lightning, racing down the street in the direction of the nearest one. His teeth set in a grim, determined line. Snorts of breath pulsed from his nostrils and expelled roughly. He didn’t care how long it took or how far he had to go, dammit. He was going to find Jaehyun!


	16. Competition's Over

There was no one else around. Jaehyun looked this way and that, checking all up and down the hospital hallway. To his left, the emergency room’s front desk. To the right, halls that led deeper into the hospital. He was effectively alone in the waiting room, although presumably not for long because this was a large city with an impossible amount of people who were hurt every day. And thus, being alone, the respectable businessman uncapped his bottle of water and dumped a liberal amount on top of his head.

A soft little gasp pulled from his lips, hardly enough to be noticed. The water soaked into his hair, wet his scalp, dripped down his face and all over the shoulders and front of his suit. None hit the floor. 

Slightly revived from the blast of cold, Jaehyun shook his head and sent droplets flying. Thoughts cleared, he returned to the very important decision at hand. Decision made, he punched in three numbers and a package of cookies fell down from the vending machine and into the slot. He pushed his hand through the little door flap and grabbed his snack, and was about to head back to the little corner nest he’d made for himself when a sudden awareness struck him. He felt it as eyes burning into the back of his skull, watching. Waiting.

One hand gripped the cookies so hard the packaging split. The other tilted slightly toward his pocket, where he kept his knife. 

_A stabbing in a hospital. I bet that won’t be a first._

Then, a scent reached him. Musk, faint and sweet.

His hand fell away from his pocket as he registered the smell. His whole body slackened with relief, and then tightened into anger. Familiarity tore him in one direction, and anger in the other.

“I can’t believe you followed me here. You’re sick.”

“I probably look sick too,” came a humorless reply. “Good thing we’re here in a hospital.”

What the hell did that mean? Eyebrows furrowed, he turned around and was given the answer. Jungwoo stood there, looking as though he’d been homeless for years. His clothes were filthy, torn and greying with dirt. Mysterious stains covered his jeans. His perfect hair hadn’t been done yet, but yesterday’s gel had soured and twisted the perfect locks out at all odd angles now. There were circles beneath his eyes, and his skin was slick with sweat. Not normal sweat either. Layers of sweat, as though he’d started perspiring and never stopped. 

“You look like shit,” Jaehyun said. 

Jungwoo let out a breathless laugh. “I feel like it too.”

And now Jaehyun noticed his heaving shoulders, the obvious trembling muscles. What on earth had happened here? For a moment, concern threatened to overtake him before he found his anger again. “How the hell did you find me? I told everyone to… never mind. Go away.”

“No,” Jungwoo said. He was still catching his breath, creating a long pause between sentences. “I’m not going to go away. This is the fourth hospital I’ve been to, searching for you.”

_He was searching for me?_

Jaehyun folded his arms over his chest, shaking his head. His own hair fell limply around his eyes, reminding him that he probably didn’t look in perfect shape either. “I’m supposed to be honored or something that you drove around for me?”

“I didn’t drive. I walked.”

That stopped him. He paused, biting his lip and thinking it over. Walking all across the city was a bit different than driving. A skinny guy like Jungwoo, especially in the condition he was in, would have made a good target for a mugger. Despite himself, he was glad that the other arrived safely.

“So, you walked. Big deal. How did you even know where I was?”

Jungwoo flashed a very weak smile that fell from his lips almost immediately. “You weren’t going to be at home, so you were going to be at work. And when you weren’t there, that must mean something terrible has happened.”

Jaehyun felt that like a knife to the heart. He grimaced, turning his head to the side as tears prickled behind his eyes. “Something has. Just, not to me. You found me. Congratulations. Now I’m asking you to leave me alone again, please.”

Hurt crossed his ex-lover’s face. “I came here to explain.”

Throwing his arms out to the side, Jaehyun struggling to control his volume. “I don’t need your explanations!”

“But you do!” Jungwoo shouted back. 

An admonishment came from the receptionist’s window, warning them to be quiet. Both men stared at each other as the faint echoes of the shout rang down the long hallway. Jaehyun was abruptly aware of the cold, stifling damp of the hospital air, and the disinfectant smell. Tiredness crashed into him again and he turned his head in the other direction, still refusing to look directly at the other. “Fine. Explain.”

“Lucas was always talking about you. You’re his biggest competition. He hated you. And now you’re bigger than he is and he hated that. He made up all these stories about you cheating, or lying, or hacking, and he… he wanted me to seduce you to try and find out what your secrets were.” Jungwoo closed his eyes, sagging against a nearby wall. “He said he would finally marry me if I did that. That was all I ever wanted from him. Commitment.”

Disgust made Jaehyun’s lip curl. Lucas couldn’t even treat his own boyfriend with the warmth and respect he deserved?

“I never wanted to do it, Jaehyun. Please believe me! I hated lying to you, but all I could think about was Lucas… Except I started comparing the two of you and you were everything I had been missing, everything I had wanted from Lucas that he wouldn’t give me.” Jungwoo stared down at the floor, voice slowly fading away. “That was the big secret I had. And I made up my mind that I was going to break up with Lucas because I… realized you were the better match for me. But he wouldn’t listen to me. He never listens. He wouldn’t even let me talk.”

“I see,” Jaehyun said. And that was all he said. He thought now that he disliked Lucas Wong even more than he already had. Holding someone’s greatest want over their head to get your own way? It was sickening. And this was probably only the very tip of the iceberg as far as manipulating people went, Jungwoo and others included. How many others, Jaehyun shuddered to think. People like that were always looking for ways to turn attention from themselves.

But that didn’t mean Jungwoo was entirely innocent in this. “You could have told me. Ages ago.”

“I didn’t understand,” Jungwoo admitted.

And that was good enough. How would any man be expected to understand what was going on if he didn’t know any better? And that was a two-way street. Jungwoo hadn’t known any better about Lucas, and Jaehyun hadn’t known any better about Jungwoo. If he had, he might have understood better why the other man always seemed so surprised to be treated so gently. Of course, Jungwoo had said no one ever treated him like that but Jaehyun assumed that meant there was no one steady in his life before, not that he had been emotionally neglected for…

“How many years did you date Lucas?”

“Three.”

Three god-awful years of briskness and silence, being constantly pushed to the side and humiliated—for Jaehyun knew now that the silver glitter suit was Lucas’s idea. Three years of low-grade hell.

Damn.

“I really do have feelings for you, Jaehyun. I really do. I meant what I said before.”

Jaehyun set his hands on the other man’s shoulders, holding him at arm’s length. “I know you did,” he said, gently. “I understand. But the thing is, I realize now there’s a whole lot you don’t have experience with.”

Jungwoo waited, not understanding. His eyes were frightened. Jaehyun sighed and released his grip. “I’ll explain but not right now.”

“Why are you in the hospital?” Jungwoo finally asked, after a silence that dragged out for almost two full minutes. 

Jaehyun opened his mouth to explain, and then figured that could come out with the rest later on. They would be done with it in one fell swoop. “I guess this is my secret. My secret to everything. You’ll finally get to know, won’t you?”

“You said you didn’t really have any business secrets.”

Jaehyun shrugged. “I guess we all hide the truth sometimes.”

Jungwoo flinched. Jaehyun didn’t apologize. He had forgiven him but he didn’t know how he felt in regards to anything else. Only time would tell how that sorted itself out, and he had a feeling he was going to have an awful lot of time to think in the next couple of days.

Just then, a door near the waiting room opened and a matronly nurse poked her head out. “Mr. Jung Jaehyun?” she grunted. 

Jaehyun looked over at the other man. His lover. Ex-lover. He didn’t know. “I’ll text you when,” was all he said. Then, he turned his back on Jungwoo and walked through the door after the nurse. 

She led him down a series of short, tight hallways to a long room full of beds. The beds were screened off from each other to allow for a modicum of privacy. During busy hours, Jaehyun suspected those screens provided even less privacy than they already seemed to; now, with all but one or two empty of occupants, he was struck with a feeling like that of an office after hours, cubicles abandoned.

The nurse led him to one in particular, though he could have easily found the way on his own. 

“Hi, Dad.”

There was no response, only a steady rattle of old lungs being force-fed by a breathing tube. The nurse left him there without a word, and Jaehyun sank down into the visitor’s chair to wait for the old man to open his eyes… if he would.


	17. Baby, You Should Know..

Jungwoo sat on Jaehyun’s couch with his hands dangling down between his knees, waiting for the other to speak. But of course they couldn’t simply get right down to talking. That was too much like simple business, and nothing was ever simple for Jaehyun.

Jungwoo still ached from being invited into the house like he was nothing more than a guest; a passing acquaintance. Jaehyun had offered him a seat and then moved off to the kitchen to make tea for the both of them as a proper host would. 

He returned, carrying two steaming mugs. “Here,” he said briskly, and offered one over. 

Taking it, Jungwoo pressed his palms around the source of heat and tried to guide it into his chilled body. He waited for something to be ignited in his cold, numb chest, but nothing was. 

Jaehyun perched on the chair nearby and sipped at his cup of tea, steam curling around his face. His eyes were closed, lashes dark against the background of paler strands of hair tumbling from his forehead. He looked like a man who feels dirty and wishes nothing more than to spend an hour, thoughtless, in the shower. Having done just that, Jungwoo knew the cleansing power of such an experience. He scrubbed and scrubbed at the dirt and sweat coating his skin and emerged a slithering pink thing. Refreshed and reborn, he was only tired. Tired and accepting of what might be coming to him for what he’d done. 

“You know, I hated tea when I was a kid.”

Jungwoo started, hot liquid sloshing up over the rim of the cup and onto his hand. However, the tea wasn’t technically hot anymore. In fact, it was very lukewarm. How long had they sat there in silence, both waiting for the other to speak?

“You did?” Jungwoo asked, prompting Jaehyun to continue. He thought it was pretty self-explanatory. Depending on how it was prepared, he could see a normal kid disliking tea.

“Yeah.” Jaehyun took another sip. “See, my mom always made tea whenever there was a problem. If she was feeling down, or if I had a bad day. I guess it was good tea. It’s what I’m drinking right now actually, but when I was a kid it tasted like nightmares and unhappiness. I hated the kettle, mugs… Anything associated with tea.

“And then she was gone and the first thing I did was make tea, and I finally understood why she did it: it’s something to do when everything else is untouchable.”

Jungwoo considered that, looking down at the cup in his hands. The steam coming up from the cooling tea had a soothing scent to it, although he didn’t really appreciate the taste of it plain. It needed cream and sugar. “Is this something untouchable, Jaehyun?”

Jaehyun flashed a tired smile. “I have a suggestion of what to do about us.”

_Oh._

“The untouchable thing is the reason for everything. My secret. You’re finally going to have your answer, Jungwoo.” Jaehyun tilted the mug up all the way to completely drain every last drop, and then he began. “My mom loved me. My dad loved me. He was a college professor, renowned across certain circles. He’d published some essays, written a book. He had a following and he knew how to get along with damn near everyone. He was a good man, and that’s why I can’t fault him for having a belief that ran counter to mine.”

Jungwoo knew where this was headed.

“The old man hated gays. He was pretty religious, I guess.” Jaehyun abruptly stopped and turned his head to the side, clearing his throat.

“Satan got your tongue?” Jungwoo blurted out.

Jaehyun flashed a tired smile before continuing. “I never really outwardly told him that I was gay… but I never talked about girls either, so he knew. At least, he suspected. My mom was my cheerleader. She died of a sudden heart attack. Some untreated defect from childhood. I remember she went to the doctor a lot when I was young, but they never did anything about it because they said her weird heartbeat was just anxiety.”

“It finally caught up to her and she dropped at the dinner table. I was 17; just graduated.” Jaehyun’s voice caught on itself, stumbling before becoming righted again. “Dead in an instant before the ambulance ever arrived. Dad sued all the doctors she had spoken with in the past ten years. He won every single case. Medical malpractice payouts are pretty big, so suddenly we had more money than we knew what to do with.”

“Except, Dad knew what to do. He gave me a chunk of the money and told me I was to leave his house. So, I did.”

“How soon after your mother died?” Jungwoo demanded. “That’s heartless!”

“Stop.”

He stopped.

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is I made something from it, dammit. Instead of kicking other people out of their own homes, I help them find a new one.”

_It all makes sense now._

Jaehyun let out a sudden bark of laughter. “Imagine my surprise when the old man suddenly entered back into my life and apologized for everything he’d ever said to me. I couldn’t believe it. I told him hell no when he offered to build me a new office but he went behind my back and did it anyway. I felt obligated to deal with him, then. But… I guess we really did reconnect again. Probably not a moment too soon.”

Jungwoo’s heart lurched. The call at the movie theater, Jaehyun being in a hospital waiting room…

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Jaehyun turned his head to the side and tried to shrug it away. “It’s been coming for a long time. Cancer’s rough. It’s a slow killer, but it’s just about caught up. The doctors aren’t giving him much longer.”

“Jaehyun, I…” Jungwoo’s eyes glazed over with tears. He tried to reach out to the other but found himself only grasping air as Jaehyun leaned back.

“I’m not done yet. That secret of mine, Jungwoo? I’ve been consulting my dad for his opinions. He tells me what he thinks, based on what he knows, and I take his advice very seriously. When he dies, I’m down the most important member of my team.” A pause. “I bet Lucas will be real happy about that.”

_No._

Jaehyun jerked his head up, teeth clenched together. Trails of hair hung in his face, falling across his narrowed eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to do that?” he growled, half-rising from his seat. “Wouldn’t you like to return to that bastard and tell him everything about me? My personal life? The feel of my mouth when I…”

That was enough. Jungwoo couldn’t take any more of this. He rose with Jaehyun and wrapped his arms around the other man’s shoulders. Jaehyun resisted, tugging away with a snarl, but Jungwoo let himself be pulled along; his grip tightened, hands locking together behind that smooth back. His head fit neatly against the graceful curve between shoulder and neck, resting there as he whispered. “Thank you for telling me all this.”

Jaehyun was a statue.

“I won’t tell anyone. Your secret’s safe with me.”

If anyone else were to find out, it would be from Jaehyun’s own mouth. Jungwoo wasn’t about to even whisper a single word, and especially not to Lucas.

He stayed where he was, holding onto Jaehyun in silence. He offered no platitudes, and he didn’t stroke or caress the other man. All he did was wait.

Slowly, almost painfully slow, Jaehyun’s head came to rest against his. Burning tears dripped, and that sculpted chest heaved slightly. Then, Jaehyun wrapped his arms around Jungwoo and held on as hard as he could. 

And still they didn’t say anything until the moment when Jaehyun stood abruptly, nearly sending Jungwoo flying across the room. “I’d say it’s time for bed,” he said.

It was 5 p.m. in the afternoon, but Jungwoo didn’t dare be stupid enough to say so out loud. He nodded. “I guess I’ll get going.” If he’d been expecting an instant reply, he was to be sorely disappointed. Jaehyun didn’t say anything until his reluctant feet had already carried him halfway to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“An alleyway,” Jungwoo replied as he turned around. His voice was deliberately light. “I need to go dumpster diving for my dinner.”

Jaehyun stood there, holding out one arm. His hand was palm-up and steady, fingers gently crooked. Staring at that hand, Jungwoo needed only a moment to think—and he wasn’t even thinking of himself. He just wondered if Jaehyun was ready for this. If either of them were.

The moment passed and he reached out, grabbing onto the offered hand. Warm fingers closed around his, and he let out a soft sigh as pure contentment raced through his veins. Here, right here, was where he should have been the whole time.

Jaehyun held his hand and studied him for a moment. “You know,” he said, voice still husky, “we should be thankful for Lucas. He’s the whole reason we were able to meet.”

“Maybe.” Jungwoo was grave. “But that era is over now. We have to move on.”

“Yes, your majesty,” Jaehyun replied, gently tugging Jungwoo down the hallway and into the bedroom. Just as they had last time they were here, they stripped down naked and climbed into bed together. However, this time, there was nothing carnal about their actions. 

Warmth pressed up behind Jungwoo as Jaehyun spooned him, tangling their legs together. His heart pattered and then stilled with the knowledge that this was where he belonged. He’d gone about it in quite a roundabout way but at last he’d ended up where he needed to be.

“Good night, Jaehyun.”

“Good night, my little unicorn.”

Jungwoo stiffened. Flashes of silver glimmered in front of his eyes. “Unicorn?”

Jaehyun laughed breathily against the back of his neck, cuddling even closer. “That’s all I thought of you that first night when you were in that majestic suit.”

“Please let me forget about that.”

“Nope.” Jaehyun’s chest began to move slower, his breathing evening out. His voice already trailed away as sleep descended hard upon him. “It’ll be the first story I tell at our wedding.”

After all this, Jungwoo had no idea whether or not he still wanted marriage. However, that was something else to figure out at a different time.


	18. I Can't Stop This Feeling

Eyes on him, burning into his soul. 

Even before he was fully awake, Jungwoo knew someone was watching him. It couldn’t be Lucas; that man hadn’t ever really stopped to look at something his entire life. If the devil was in the details, then that made him a saint. 

Come to think of it, these sheets didn’t feel like the thin, silky ones that always covered Lucas’s bed at all times. These were thick and warm, like a modest cloud never to be admired for its appearance but noticed all the same. The mattress was also softer. So he’d slept in someone else’s bed.

Jungwoo opened his eyes. At some point in the middle of the night he must have rolled over. Jaehyun’s face was right in front of his, all the tension of the past days torn away by deep sleep. His lips were slightly parted, and one hand curled childlike against his cheek.

Heart aching in his chest, Jungwoo wondered why he had thought he was being watched. Maybe paranoia, or his subconscious had registered Jaehyun’s face turned in his direction and substituted the rest. Either way, he was awake now and there wasn’t much else to do except watch the sleeping man.

Unless… Unless he could return the favor Jaehyun attempted to give him, of being woken up by being sucked on. That might be presumptuous, however. Just because they spent the night in the same bed it didn’t mean that was an automatic all-clear for sex. Plus, he reminded himself, Jaehyun hadn’t exactly said what he thought about their relationship or the course it would take from this point. 

“I can’t decide if this is sexy or creepy.”

“Oh!”

The other man was awake, blinking sleepily. Jungwoo reached out and slid his fingers through messy, unkempt blond clumps. Jaehyun relaxed under his hand, letting himself be caressed for a minute before slowly pulling away and sitting up. “Were you sleeping with your eyes open?” he teased.

“No, I just…” Jungwoo blushed and pushed himself up onto his elbows. The blankets over their bodies were thick enough to hide the bulge between his legs, but not so thick that he felt completely hidden. “I was just admiring you. You’re really cute when you sleep.”

“So are you,” Jaehyun said. He smiled, dark eyes glowing faintly with his amusement. “That’s before you stab me in the eye with your dick.”

“The pirate look really suits you, I’m telling you.”

“My board disagrees. Speaking of them,” Jaehyun looked over at the clock on the wall. Jungwoo followed his gaze and automatically winced. It was only 1 a.m. He’d mistaken the glow of the alarm clock for the faint light of morning. “They aren’t terribly happy with me for skipping out on so many things.”

“I’m sorry.”

Surprise flickered across the other’s handsome face. “It’s not your fault.”

Jungwoo shrugged. “I can still be sorry. If I take the blame, then there’s someone concrete to be angry at. Being angry at the world sucks.”

“Be that as it may, I refuse to let you do that,” Jaehyun snorted, reaching across the few inches of space between them to take Jungwoo’s face in his hands. “You’re used to having to take the fall, but from now on, you’re only allowed to apologize for something you’ve done.”

“But that’s not the only usage for the term.”

Jaehyun glared playfully. “Don’t argue semantics with me. You don’t have your literary whatever degree yet.”

_School._

Jungwoo put his head in his hands. All his textbooks, his note supplies, his tuition… all of it belonged to Lucas. “At this rate, I never will be.”

“Nonsense,” Jaehyun said, briskly. “We’ll figure that out. We’re going to get everything figured out.”

“How?”

“Through the power of not asking so many damn questions so early in the morning,” Jaehyun growled, playfully. He looked over at the clock again. “I really doubt I’m going to be able to go back to bed right away.”

“So then, what do we do?”

“I guess we talk.” Jaehyun’s shoulders were a discouraged slope, not proud and squared as they had once been. “I know you’re wondering what I think about us.”

His heart in his throat, Jungwoo couldn’t speak to answer. He would be an uncaring moron to not wonder!

Suddenly, Jungwoo was on his back. “Oof!” A grunt exploded from between his lips, and his jaw clenched hard before relaxing. Every part of him relaxed all at once because of what he was seeing. Jung Jaehyun, the dreaded rival, the secret-keeper, the rude and cold businessman, straddled him with his legs spread wide apart. His dick lay straight between parted thighs, and his back was as straight and proud as a cowboy’s. And his eyes were open and wide, earnest and deep. Jungwoo stared into them, knowing that he could get lost in that rainbow of color. He felt warm, almost overheated under that gaze. 

Then Jaehyun moved on top of him. His firm ass cheeks rubbed on Jungwoo’s stomach, making his blood start to pump faster. Rising up from underneath, Jungwoo’s cock pressed against Jaehyun’s rear; likewise, Jaehyun’s organ also began to swell and stand to attention.

“I thought we were going to talk?”

“You have two choices,” Jaehyun purred softly. He kept rocking his hips, teasing Jungwoo. “We can sit here and talk about our feelings until we’re blue in the face, or we can show each other how we feel with our bodies.”

Jungwoo swallowed hard. His hands moved of their own accord, sliding up the other man’s legs and around to hold onto his ass. Biting his lip, he shuddered to feel perfect skin and tight, round muscle against his palms. “You sound like a hippie.”

Jaehyun laughed. His eyes sparked with his amusement, although the circles beneath them belied the merriment. “They got some things right. And besides… I really don’t want to think right now. Help me not think, Jungwoo.”

His body said yes, but his heart still hesitated. Was this really what either of them needed right now? As he thought it over, Jaehyun rocked slower and came to a standstill. He was waiting. Never before had anyone ever waited. Jaehyun was perfect. Everything about him was perfect, including his flaws. What other man could have gone through so much and come out perfect instead of ruined?

Only Jaehyun.

Still, this wasn’t the right time.

Jungwoo opened his mouth to say that but what came out instead was a soft plea instead. “Kiss me.”

Well, a little physical comfort wouldn’t hurt. It would tire them out and let them get back to sleep, at least.

Jaehyun leaned forward, placing his hands on the shoulders of the man beneath him. “My unicorn,” he murmured.

Jungwoo’s eyes flew open wide but his protests were swallowed by lips settling down against his, pressing back fiercely so that he sank into the mattress up to his ears. Protesting louder, playfully, Jungwoo squeezed Jaehyun’s ass and watched as the stronger man arched his back and moved his body in a tight circle, pressing back against his hands. Their kiss parted and Jaehyun flicked out his tongue to trace Jungwoo’s lips, breath hot and heavy. 

“I want you,” Jaehyun said. His voice was light but there was a growl deep in his chest. “Damn, I want you.”

“Then take me,” Jungwoo whispered. He closed his eyes and waited, body slack and obedient as he was always expected to be. A light touch on his lips made him look again, focusing on the fingertip pressed to his mouth. His gaze slid all the way up the length of that tanned arm, to Jaehyun’s knowing gaze. 

“We’re going to do this right. Communication. Okay, love?”

_Not lover, but love._

“I want you to take me, please,” Jungwoo said, as politely as he could.

Jaehyun withdrew his finger and replaced it with his lips again before drawing away once more. He rocked his hips, showing off his huge cock, and then slid backward off Jungwoo’s body so that he was between his legs. Jungwoo watched, curious and trembling with anticipation. He felt like one of those stupid little dogs that get carted around in purses, always shaking and staring with huge eyes.

Luckily, Jaehyun seemed not able to read his mind right then. He was sliding back even a little further, and then working his hands beneath Jungwoo’s ass. Bracing himself on the bed, Jungwoo helped lift his ass up…

And found himself flipped over, facedown with a mouth full of mattress. Dizziness circled behind his eyes for only a moment before being banished by an all-too-familiar sensation. Hands on his ass, sliding down between his cheeks to pull them apart. Suddenly tense, he started to shift around and managed to turn his head to the side to speak.

“Lube?”

Lucas sometimes “forgot.”

“Of course.” Jaehyun’s voice was low and soothing. “But we’re not starting with that right away.”

What else was there? Jungwoo wondered. Very quickly, he was given his answer in the form of a quick swipe of pure heat and wetness. His whole body jumped with shock. Pushing his hands beneath himself, he started to rise up. “What was that?” Twisting around awkwardly, he stared at Jaehyun. 

Jaehyun stared back, a smile on his face. “Did you like it?”

“Hell, yes, I liked it! What did you do?” Jungwoo looked around at what he could see of the mattress. He was no stranger to toys and lube, but he hadn’t ever felt anything like that before. Maybe it was that weird sort of lube that heated up when rubbed?

“I licked you.”

“Licked me?” He didn’t know whether to be astounded or delighted at this new discovery. He glanced shyly over at Jaehyun’s face and saw him smiling, although a glow of sadness darkened his gaze. There were no answers to be found there. “I liked it. Do it again.”

“Then get back down!” Jaehyun demanded.

Jungwoo obeyed quickly, but this time he kept his hands up beneath his body and raised up his ass. When Jaehyun was slow to come to him, he wiggled it and made a low growl. A soft chuckle answered him, along with plenty of hot breath puffing deep between his ass cheeks. Fingers slid up from his cock, a quick caress over that soft place between his balls and opening, and then his ass was being held open again. Closing his eyes, he waited and trembled as another breath hit him. Then there came the flick of hot wetness again, a tongue teasing his opening.

Already moaning, Jungwoo balanced his body on one arm and slid the other between his own legs to caress up and down his length. His member throbbed in his hand, begging for more, but he held back. It would be a shame to cum too soon, to miss out on the rest of this.

Jaehyun’s tongue lavished attention upon his opening, circling the tight pucker and teasing at the center. Jungwoo moved against his mouth, following the motion. The harder he shook and the tenser his muscles became, the looser he was back there. Surprise fluttered in his heart like a butterfly, because he wasn’t used to opening up like this. He felt like a flower, like something allowed to come into being naturally instead of being forced to.

“Ah… Jaehyun… Ah!”

Without warning, the tongue suddenly pressed hard against his opening and slipped inside before coming back out again immediately. Jaehyun groaned, shaking now as well. “You’re so loose… I can’t…”

That was all he managed to say before need took over. Jungwoo pressed back hard against Jaehyun’s mouth as the other man pressed his tongue as deep inside his ass as he could. Heat rolled in waves over Jungwoo’s body, making his hand spasm hard and tug feverishly at his cock. He cried out, digging his forehead into the mattress while also pushing his ass back on that hot, wet tongue still working its way deeper inside. Jaehyun’s face pressed against him, and every hot breath was euphoria.

“Jae., I need…”

“My Woo, baby…”

Jungwoo waited for more but nothing else came as Jaehyun backed away. Words had failed him. They were meaningless.

Something else pressed against his opening, but it was not wet even though it dribbled fluid in little streaks down his ass. It was hot, however. 

“Lube?” Jungwoo suggested again, a little more urgently this time. Everything in him ached with anticipation for this to be good, for this to be all pleasure and no pain. 

Jaehyun chuckled. “Eager?”

_I’ll let him think that._

“I’ve got you covered. Don’t worry.”

A bottle opened, the cap clicking faintly. Jungwoo waited, listening as Jaehyun liberally applied lube to his own organ. Then, gentle fingers pressed the cold gel lube against his opening and slightly inside.

Relaxed now, Jungwoo wiggled his ass. “Come get me.”

“You’re supposed to come get me. The unicorn always comes for the fair maiden.”

“Fuck you!” Jungwoo shouted. He sputtered with laughter, quickly cut off by a sharp gasp as the bulging tip of Jaehyun’s huge dick pushed inside his opening. His muscles clamped down, tensing hard.

A hand rested lightly on his back. “Ease up. It’s me. Using the back door because you trust me not to steal your fine china.”

With an effort, Jungwoo took a deep breath and forced himself to relax again. Jaehyun’s cock slid neatly out of him and then back in, going no deeper than an inch or so. Over and over, they moved together just the slightest bit until a rhythm started to form. Jungwoo relaxed into it, moving his hand on his swollen member to the same beat; behind him, he heard Jaehyun let out a soft grunt of exertion and knew it was time to continue. With the next thrust, he pressed harder back against the cock inside him. Jaehyun gladly obliged, and the process began again. 

Jungwoo didn’t think he’d ever enjoyed sex more.

By the time Jaehyun was actually most of the way inside him, Jungwoo’s eyes were practically rolling back in his head. His cock was throbbing in his hand, begging for release. His breath came in shuddering gasps and his body bucked of its own rhythm with no heed for anything else. 

Suddenly, he felt the firm length of Jaehyun’s dick sliding all the way out of him. A cry rose up in his throat, disappointment forming in his heart, but his cry turned to a scream as the man on top of him suddenly buried himself back inside with a piercing thrust.

That was all Jungwoo could take. Every muscle in his entire body seized up, trapping Jaehyun inside and squeezing tightly as an orgasm rocked through him. He was lost to the world, lost to everything but pleasure and heat and shaking, hardly aware of it when Jaehyun orgasmed as well.

They collapsed onto their sides still entwined and adjusted until they weren’t.

“Jaehyun,” Jungwoo started.

Jaehyun’s hand stroked down his side, silencing him. “I know.”

Satisfied and suddenly exhausted as the adrenaline from sex drained away, Jungwoo fell asleep.


	19. Wanna Do It All Day

Jaehyun sat in his office, absentmindedly rubbing between his legs. He was between meetings, struggling to focus on the world before him while still caught up in all the sex he and Jungwoo had been having for the past three days. Jungwoo had risked his schooling, and Jaehyun had briefly abandoned his work, taking his time to focus on the things that were most pressing and important to him. 

However, life wouldn’t be put on hold for the sake of two lovers for very long before resuming itself. Jungwoo was back at college and Jaehyun was here in his office, facing down a pile of paperwork that was probably taller than he was. He’d taken some of it home with him to work on between rounds with Jungwoo, but he hadn’t actually touched any of it because there hadn’t been any spare moments in which to do so. Now he was facing The Stack, and dealing with all the calls he’d missed, all the rescheduled appointments…

It almost made the whole three days not worth it. However, he would never think it wasn’t worth it, no matter how he weighed the risks and rewards. He had gotten to spend time with Jungwoo. They had talked and screwed and talked some more, and laughed over old cartoons at 2 a.m., and ordered pizza like crazy. It was almost like high school, carefree and intimate and yet somehow innocent.

Jaehyun closed his eyes now, savoring all of those moments before asking himself that big question.

Would he be any better than Lucas if he asked Jungwoo to tell him the man’s secrets? His techniques, his thought processes and the way he made decisions? Surely there had to be something, didn’t there? Or perhaps that was only him being petty and wanting revenge, which he was surely above.

The terrible thing was that he knew Jungwoo would tell him if he asked. The other man was still so high-strung; still so desperate to please. He had been taken advantage of so much that it was the norm for him, and Jaehyun hated that; he was resolved to never treat him in such a way.

Which, he supposed, meant the decision had already been made. He wouldn’t ask, and he didn’t even need to ask since he was already doing better than Lucas.

_I didn’t want to be anything but competitors, he thought. But now I would gladly do anything to destroy you._

Breaking out of his thoughts with an effort, Jaehyun reached for his pen from where he’d dropped it on the floor. As he did so, he leaned on the phone in his right pocket. His personal cell. Luck dictated that would be the exact moment that the phone started ringing, vibrating fiercely. Something about the combination of stretched fabric and phone placement made the vibration reach all the way to his dick. His poor, tired dick. 

Stifling a moan, he placed the phone against his ear. “Jungwoo,” he said. “You gave me a tingle!”

There was no answer. Nothing verbal, at least. There was a sound of scuffling, as though someone tripped and fell while trying to right themselves. Wind whipped past the cell phone speaker, scraping harshly against his ear drums. Jaehyun winced and pressed the phone harder against his ear, straining now. Car engines nearby; a distant honking horn.

And finally, a voice. But not a voice Jaehyun had ever heard before. “You little shit!”

Jaehyun stiffened. A chill raced up his spine, into his brain, and he saw red. His hand clenched into a fist around the pen he held, snapping it in half. Sticky ink spilled across his fingers, puddling on the desk. 

That voice had been distant, like a shout. Where was the voice that should have been right there on the other end of the phone? Where was Jungwoo?

“Jungwoo!”

“Jaehyun!”

His heart skipped and sputtered, awkward in his chest. Jungwoo wasn’t speaking. He was shouting from somewhere near the phone. Holding it? Impossible to tell.

“Jae., Jaehyun, there’s someone…” The rest was lost beneath wind and the ambient sound of that nearby street.

Jaehyun shouted, “Jungwoo, I couldn’t hear you!”

“…Someone… Me!” Adding to the complications, Jungwoo was out of breath. 

Finding himself on his feet, Jaehyun strode over to the office door. He meant only to stand in front of it, but before he knew it, he had tossed it open and was running through the hall and past the other offices. Heads turned in his direction, staring. He ignored them all, crashing through the stairwell door and bounding down the steps two at a time. 

“Address, Jungwoo. Give me the address.”

Sputtering puffs of breath. Pounding footsteps, and a skittering of gravel kicked up. “…Lexington…”

And then nothing. Another scuffle, a shout in the voice of the unidentified speaker. Then the call disconnected.

_Fuck!_

With the call cutting out like that, there was no way he could be certain of the street. Lexington Avenue? Drive? Street? Which district? North or south? Which way were they headed? Was Lexington even the road, or had it been the name of a landmark?

Jaehyun threw himself into his car and raced out of the driveway. He drove with his knees, punching in Lexington into his GPS with one hand and calling the police with the other.

“Manhattan Police Department,” said a crisp voice. No doubt that professionalism was meant to soothe him, but Jaehyun was not any normal citizen. Where the police were only trying to convey an air of confidence, a message that they had been thorough and done everything, Jaehyun only felt like just another number. How was he any different from anyone else they saw, day in and day out?

“Listen closely,” he began. His voice was tense. The officer on the other end of the line went silent, clearly listening. No doubt this would come back to bite him in the ass later, but Jaehyun couldn’t help it. “Someone is chasing my boyfriend. He called me. He was terrified!” His breath came in ragged gulps, like he was the one who was running scared. “All he could tell me was Lexington. I don’t know anything else or where they’re headed, please…”

“Okay,” the cop said, cutting him off. “We’ll send cruisers by all prime locations. Meanwhile, I need you to stay on the line with me and come to the station. What is your name, sir?”

No way in hell was Jaehyun going to go to the station and sit there while god knows what happened to his precious unicorn. He said, “My name is Jung Jaehyun. Blond hair, pale skin.”

The officer sounded puzzled. “Okay?”

And Jaehyun turned off the phone and threw it to the side, where it bounced off the passenger seat and clattered to the floor. It immediately began to vibrate as the officer tried to call him back but he ignored it. His point in describing himself was so that the police had less of a chance of mistaking him for the bad guy. After all, he hoped to soon be chasing after Jungwoo too.

All that was left to do was floor it and hope against hope.


	20. My Mix Straight Bang Like

He had no idea what he’d done to deserve this. He didn’t know who he had crossed or offended for this to happen. He didn’t know any of it. He just knew he was running for his life, thankful for all the wrong reasons that the man chasing after him didn’t have a gun. He did, however, have a baseball bat that was wrapped in chains and barbed wire. For all intents and purposes, that might have been even worse. At least a bullet would be a clean, swift death.

_I can’t believe I was so happy just this morning and now I’m wishing for death._

Jungwoo’s lips twisted but they couldn’t hold their position as ragged, explosive breaths burst up from his lungs again and again. He was sweating profusely, his clothes soaked and dragging at him. His arms ached. His legs ached. His lungs were absolutely on fire. He didn’t even know where he was. Street signs and other identifying marks flew by him without rhyme or reason and he couldn’t stop to look at them all, not when he could practically feel hooked metal tearing into the soft flesh on the back of his neck.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment to rid them of the salt dripping into them in a steady stream, Jungwoo twisted around away from the main road and into another alley. No passersby would dare try to help him, even if they understood why he was running; he didn’t blame them, because he certainly wouldn’t have risked his own life to intervene in the life of someone who was being chased by a mugger. They would both wind up dead that way!

And he hoped that the cops might be called, but so far all the sirens were distant and no one found him. Not even Jaehyun.

“I’m gonna getcha!” the man chasing him cackled. Why he didn’t seem to be tiring, Jungwoo didn’t know. Were all muggers in such good shape? Jungwoo hadn’t met one before to ask. 

But Jungwoo was definitely tiring. His legs were like lead. He couldn’t move them fast enough, like they were made of cinderblocks and he was dragging them instead of being propelled by them. Death drew closer and closer behind him. He pumped his arms and tucked his head down to try and gain some speed but he had already attempted those things some time back. There was nothing else to do. 

Another alley opened up at his side and he took the turn… and collapsed hard onto his hands and knees as his feet tangled together and tripped him. “Ah!” he cried out, clutching his bleeding palms to his chest. Pain distracted him for a moment, but a moment was far too long to spare. He tried to stand again, to run once more, but his legs were gelatin. They wobbled and quivered but couldn’t move.

_I’m dead._

Another set of footsteps slowly padded up behind him, accompanied by a distinct metallic scraping as the modified baseball bat was dragged over the concrete. The mugger took his time, unhurried. Like a wolf that bled its prey and wore it down, he knew there was no longer any chance of escape.

“I’m sorry to do this to you, kid.”

It didn’t sound like a very heartfelt apology. Jungwoo cringed in on himself and covered his head with his hands, mouth opening to sob even though there was no breath in his lungs with which to weep. 

“It’s just business, you know? Someone wants you gone and I’m the only one who can make it happen. So say your prayers.”

The information given to him almost carelessly took a moment to sink. This wasn’t a mugger then. This was a hitman. But why? Maybe it didn’t matter. He was already dead.

Which meant he had nothing to be afraid of. If death was here, it was here no matter how uselessly he held up his hands or flailed around.

Suddenly, all his fear melted away. There was no escaping this. Jungwoo turned to face it head-on, sitting up straight and tilting his head back to look up at the attacker right in the eyes. What could be seen of the eyes, at any rate. He wore a ski-mask. There was no way of telling what any of his facial features looked like, or the color or length of his hair. He was of medium build, neither unimpressive nor anything to write home about. 

Maybe, just maybe, the baseball bat made up for all those things that were distinctly lacking. 

“Done praying?” the man asked, lips moving beneath the fabric of the mask.

“Go… Go screw yourself!” Jungwoo spat. 

Though he couldn’t see, he felt the other’s anger. “Maybe I’ll screw with your corpse!” 

And the bat raised up, metal and wood polish glinting in the sunlight. Jungwoo stared up at the tangle of wires and closed his eyes to let the first blow land where it would. He imagined the ripping, tearing pain; the first splash of blood hitting the ground…

“NO!”

His eyes snapped open in time to see a large, tanned blur go flying past and tackle the mugger directly from the side. Both men grunted and collapsed on the concrete, hands clawing and struggling to reach for the bat that fell only a few inches away. Jaehyun adjusted his grip, no longer reaching for the bat but holding the other man’s collar in his fist. His other first came slamming down repeatedly against the mugger’s face, over and over so hard that the opposite cheek slammed into the concrete with each strike. Blood flew in little streaks and splatters across the ground. 

Not about to become a damsel in distress that could only stand by and be rescued, Jungwoo reached for the baseball bat. A heavy, dirtied hand settled over his. “We won’t need that. Best not to get your fingerprints on it anyway.”

Jungwoo turned to face Jaehyun. “But… what if he wakes up?”

“If he wakes up and gives us some trouble, you can whack him. Otherwise, I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”

Jungwoo looked over at the unconscious mugger and shook his head, tucking his body in close to Jaehyun as the stronger man hugged him tightly. “How did you do that?” he whispered.

“I told you I take dance lessons.”

“And?”

“I may have neglected to tell you that I’ve also taken self-defense classes.”

Leaning his head on Jaehyun’s broad shoulder, Jungwoo said, “Is there anything you can’t do?”

Jaehyun was silent for a minute. Somewhere in the distance, police sirens wailed. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re safe. I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you.”

Jungwoo nodded. His bravado toward the end there felt like something that didn’t entirely belong to him. “I just don’t understand what happened here.”

“That’s not for us to know. That’s for the police to figure out.”

They held each other tightly, crouching there in the pool of blood until the police arrived. They came on foot because their cruisers couldn’t fit into the narrow alleyway but, judging from the sound and lights, they had the exits blocked. As the cops came, bearing their pistols and brandishing batons, a thought occurred to Jungwoo. 

“Jaehyun, how did you find me?”

“Pure dumb luck,” Jaehyun admitted. He hugged Jungwoo even tighter, pulling him into his lap. “I dumped my car in the middle of Lexington Street and ran around asking people if they’d seen a tall pretty guy being chased.”

“But… how did you catch up to us?”

“That’s a secret,” the other man replied.

“It’s because you’re in shape, isn’t it? Of all the times to be bragging, Jaehyun.”

Just then, the police arrived. One of them immediately headed over to the mugger and crouched over his prone, groaning form with a pair of handcuffs. Others guarded the exits, while two came up to Jaehyun and Jungwoo.

“You two do that?” one of them asked, gesturing at all the blood and the dropped mugger. His badge declared him to be a deputy, while the other cop was in plain clothes. 

“I did, sir,” Jaehyun replied. “I’m the one who put in the call and this is Jungwoo, my boyfriend who was being chased.”

It was without a doubt the weirdest way Jungwoo had ever been introduced. Nevertheless, he leaned against Jaehyun and nodded a lot to agree that he was indeed the one who was chased. 

The cop pulled out a notepad and jotted something down. Jaehyun spoke again as soon as the writing stopped, explaining exactly as he had to Jungwoo how he managed to stumble across the scene just in the nick of time. “I hit him. A lot. But not with that bat.”

“I woulda used the bat,” the deputy grunted. “Bloody faces get cleaned up but this one deserves something he won’t forget. I’ll need both of you to come down to the station with me so I can get your official statements.”

Jaehyun nodded and wrapped his arm around Jungwoo, who managed to stand but only with a huge effort that left him shaking. Though Jaehyun supported him, the deputy noticed.

“You should also go to the hospital and see if you can’t get something to help you rest tonight. We’ll talk more about that later. For now, please come with me.”

Jungwoo turned his head as they walked away, looking to see the mugger also being tugged toward a cruiser. To his surprise, the mugger twisted around and looked back at him as well.

“Wait,” the mugger said. He spoke like a man with a mouthful of marbles, speaking through blood and broken teeth. “This ain’t all on me, okay? I got paid for this.”

Jungwoo stopped in his tracks and twisted out of Jaehyun’s grip to look right at the mugger. “Who?” he whispered.

The man laughed in his face, straining against the cuffs on his hands as the cops dragged him backward. “Who the hell do you think? Lucas did! Lucas did this! He asked me to get rid of you so you wouldn’t go jabbering about his business to the whole world!”

Stunned, Jungwoo let himself be ushered into the cruiser alongside Jaehyun. The deputy sat in front and they drove off, leaving the bloody crime scene behind. Jungwoo felt numb and uncertain. “Lucas couldn’t be that heartless,” he whispered to Jaehyun. 

“Oh, you trusting little thing,” Jaehyun said, and that was all the comment he made. 

Jungwoo wasn’t done, however. He looked up into the eyes of the other, the one he trusted so much. “Why does Lucas hate you so much?” he asked, finally giving voice to a question that should have been asked ages ago.

Jaehyun sighed and hugged Jungwoo, enfolding him with warmth and care. “I wish I could give you some sort of storybook answer where everything makes sense, but this just doesn’t wrap up neatly. We aren’t ex-lovers or childhood friends who had a falling out. He’s not an outcast family member. He just doesn’t like having competition and he made it his life mission to ruin me. Just because he could. Sometimes real life is like that.”

_I wish it wasn’t._


	21. Stay With Me

The call came just as they were leaving the police station. Jaehyun checked his phone and felt the blood drain away from his face.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Jungwoo clung to his side. “What’s wrong?”

Holding up one finger to quiet him, Jaehyun answered the call while moving over away from the station doors. “This is Jung Jaehyun speaking.”

“Mr. Jung, it’s your father.” The speaker was a nurse he knew well by now, one who often tended to his father during his frequent hospital stays. Despite the fact that he’d been expecting this call, his heart still sank. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. “He took a turn for the worse about an hour ago and hasn’t bounced back. We think this might be it. You should come.”

“I’ll be there.” He hung up, and stared down at his feet.

A soft touch on his arm reminded him of Jungwoo’s presence. He turned to look into the dark eyes of his lover. “What do I do?” he asked, shoulders low. For once he didn’t want to be the strong one.

Luckily, Jungwoo understood just like he always did. Leaning down, he clasped Jaehyun’s hand between his and held it tight. “Let’s go to your father. Your car is still stranded so we can either catch a cab or ask one of the officers for a lift.”

Jaehyun hesitated, torn by indecision. Before he could give his answer, he saw a towering man striding in their direction. Jungwoo stiffened at his side, becoming a wooden puppet judging by the way he moved. 

“Lucas,” Jaehyun snarled. He couldn’t stop himself.

Luckily, Lucas didn’t stop himself either. He glared at them like a caged tiger but continued on past and into the police station.

Jaehyun turned back to Jungwoo. “I think I’d rather take a cab.”

Jungwoo gripped his hand tightly, offering him what reassurance he could. “Then let’s go. What are we waiting for?”

Unlike certain others in positions of power, Jaehyun had never really lost his taste for driving. There were times when it couldn’t be avoided, having a driver, but he did preferred to do it himself as much as possible; he supposed it was like his version of making tea, having something to focus on when he needed it. Now, when he needed that distraction the most, it had come to this where he could only sit and watch helplessly as someone did it all for him. The streets went by, features all the same. The signs meant nothing. The skyline was unchanging. 

Jaehyun fidgeted with his hands in his lap, fingers churning over and over like he was in the middle of lathering up a bar of soap. Jungwoo just leaned into his side, offering comfort with his presence. Although he wished he could be soothed, Jaehyun couldn’t. He could only think about what he was losing.

Half an hour later, he raced inside the hospital and up to the front desk of the emergency room. “My name is Jung Jaehyun,” he gasped out. “My father—”

“It’s okay, sweetie,” the old crone behind the window said. “I remember you. Your father is down in Critical Care. Let me page someone for you to come and get you.”

God, but she moved so slowly. Jaehyun stood anxiously in front of the window, drumming his fingers on the thin lip of counter. The room on the other side of the glass was small and tight and cluttered, but the old crone with a nametag of Dorothy somehow took forever even standing up. He could hear her joints popping, her bones creaking even through the wall and the glass separating them. Laboriously, she got to her feet and then took a single shuffling step over to a table off to the side. Another step, and then another, each one a calculated motion planned out beforehand.

_I’m going to go out of my mind._

The frustration rising up inside his chest felt very much like rage. He clamped both hands on the counter, knuckles white from the strain. Not even Jungwoo at his side could ease the tension as seconds turned into a full minute. 

Agitated, Jaehyun glanced over to the side to look out at the full waiting room. No one looked at him. They were all busy with their own aches and pains. Someone was clearly nursing a broken arm. Another held a thick, bloody cloth to his forehead. However, none of them were dying or even close to death as far as he could see. His father was more important than all of them. They had family and loved ones, and he was about to lose his after regaining it for only a short time. That wasn’t fair at all! 

In the back of his mind, he knew he was being a hasty fool but he couldn’t stop. He had only felt like this once before and that was also today. He didn’t know how to deal with this twice, especially when he thought it was all over.

“Sir? Mr. Jung?”

Jaehyun looked up. The nurse was back, looking at him with a sympathetic expression. “Yes?” he growled. Jungwoo tugged at his shoulder, clearly trying to warn him to be nice. 

“Someone will be along shortly. In the meantime, if you’ll please take a seat?”

There were no empty seats, not that Jaehyun wanted one anyway. He chose to pace up and down the length of the hall instead, struggling to get rid of some of the excess energy brewing inside him. Jungwoo stood against the wall, arms crossed and head lowered but eyes raised to watch. 

Shortly, a man dressed in blue scrubs came striding down the hall. Jaehyun stopped and stared hard at him, waiting.

The man flashed a friendly smile. “Hi. Are you Jaehyun?”

He would have nothing to do with friendly greetings right now. “Take me to my father.”

The man’s face fell and became an impudent mask. “Of course. Right this way. But who is this?”

Jungwoo gripped Jaehyun’s arm, clearly intent on coming with him no matter what. “I’m his boyfriend. And his support. I’m coming with him.”

After hesitating for a moment, the man nodded. “Very well, but I’ll ask that you comply with any requests to leave the room.”

Neither of them liked that, but if it was the only way…

The man led them deeper into the hospital and up an elevator, and down another series of corridors. Jaehyun kept his hand firmly around his boyfriend’s, not just to keep them from being separated but because he needed the support. He hated hospitals. All he could think of was his mother dying, of being rushed to a place like this where they tried and tried to revive her. Of seeing her body, already cold and congealing like a bad dinner dumped in the trash.

He shuddered.

They passed into a waiting area equipped with sinks and all the tools necessary for hand-washing. All three of them did so. The patients in Critical Care were obviously unstable. Any errant germ could mean the difference between life and death.

At least they were allowed through the doors. This part of the hospital resembled every other except for how quiet it was. No chatter from the nurses, no crying babies or music filtered in through speakers. Only silence, and an occasional murmur of television. 

No, not exactly silent. Like a forest at night, full of nocturnal going-ons, a hospital could never truly be quiet. Computers beeped and chimed, machinery whirred, and soft footsteps echoed.

The man in blue scrubs took them to one room in particular, near the back. One of the quiet ones, with only a deep hissing sound coming from within. “The doctor will be along shortly. Please push the call button if you have need of assistance.”

Jaehyun hesitated outside the room. “I’m not really sure what we’re going to find in here.”

“I can handle it,” Jungwoo whispered, and kissed him. It was a chaste sort of kiss, one that involved only the lips, but it was perhaps the most meaningful kiss they had ever shared. Their foreheads touched and they breathed together before pulling apart.

Jaehyun knocked on the door and then stepped inside.

The sight was exactly what he expected it to be, and yet far more painful. He’d seen this same thing plenty of times during these visits but it hurt him deep inside to know that this would be the last.

The old man lay on his back in the hospital bed, arms down limp by his sides. He already looked as if he was embalmed in his casket at the funeral home, waiting for burial. His skin sagged loose, almost like melted wax. Heavy wrinkles marred his face, nearly hiding his mouth and eyes. What hair remained on his head was sparse and crinkly, devoid of nutrients. 

Jaehyun sighed softly, earning a tender squeeze on his hand from Jungwoo. He would have walked up with the other on his arm but this was something that needed to be done alone. Pulling his hand away, he approached the bed. 

A breathing mask covered his father’s mouth, and there were tubes up his nose. Every part of him was connected to machinery by wires or needles or catheters. The smell was one Jaehyun had come to know intimately, of harsh soap, urine, and a strange sweetness. 

The sweetness was death; a slow rotting from the inside out as organs and extremities shut down to protect the heart and brain. 

The old man didn’t open his eyes or even register that Jaehyun was there at all. The only sign that he was alive was the rush of oxygen entering and leaving his lungs.

Jaehyun grabbed a chair and moved it over to a clear spot beside the bed where there were no wires. He dropped down into it and looked at his father, feeling like a scared child. 

“Hey, Dad.”

No response, and no reason to try again. Real life wasn’t like the movies. People didn’t always get to wake up to have their last words. 

He was proven wrong by a sudden rattling. His father pulled in a deeper breath than he had been taking before, eyes slowly opening and turning in his direction. Jaehyun’s heart gave a terrible wrench. Those eyes were so tired. They had given up.

“Jaehyun? Son?”

“I’m here, Dad.”

“Where’s your mother?” his father croaked.

Jaehyun clenched one fist tight around the metal safety bars that were on either side of the bed. “She couldn’t make it right away. Traffic is terrible. But she’s coming.”

“Good,” his father grunted. “A man’s wife should always be there for him. And the other way around. Don’t you forget that when you have your own wife.”

_He’s hallucinating. Dying. Lost in memories._

“I won’t, Dad,” Jaehyun said, for lack of anything else to say. There would be nothing to gain by announcing to the old man that his boyfriend was standing in this very room, especially if he was lost in memories of a time when he was very bigoted. 

His father’s head turned, the ligaments in his neck crackling. “And who’s this? That person you went on one date with?” And now they were back to clarity, but for how long.

Jaehyun turned his head slightly to gesture for Jungwoo to come forward, but the other man had already done so and was now standing at his side. “That’s right. We’ve been on a few more since then.”

The old man grunted again. “I hope so. Not customary to take a man to your father’s death bed unless you know the poor sod a little. What’s your name, son?”

“Jungwoo, sir.”

“Hmm,” Jaehyun’s father said. And that was all. It was the closest to acceptance that he would ever come, because right then his eyes closed once more. “I’m tired.”

“Then sleep, Dad. Mom will be here when you wake up.”

And then there was only silence. Jaehyun blinked away burning tears at the truth in his words. The old man would never wake up again, unless it was in his beloved Heaven. And his wife would be there. She was a saint. The two of them would be reunited at last.

All that was left to do was wait. After a minute or so, he heard a plastic chair scraping over the tile floor. Jungwoo dropped down next to him and they waited together.

They hadn’t waited for very long when there was a knock on the door behind them. “Jaehyun?” the doctor called inside. 

Jungwoo patted his hand, skin warm and soothing. “I’ll watch him,” he said.

Jaehyun nodded his wordless thanks and then went out in the hallway to face down the doctor. He was an older Hispanic fellow, without any trace of an accent whatsoever. 

“I’m relieved that you came when we called,” the doctor said. “He doesn’t have long left. His vitals are fading rapidly.”

Pressing his lips together, Jaehyun said, “Isn’t there anything you can do?”

“We have given him painkillers to make his passing easier, but it’s time, Jaehyun. We prolonged his life for several months but we can’t prolong it any further.” The doctor blinked, and Jaehyun realized once more how impersonal everything was in life. This other man had seen so many people die that it didn’t even affect him anymore. “There’s almost nothing left to try to keep alive. His insides are turning to mush. He—”

Jaehyun held up one hand, turning his head away as pain wracked through his chest. “I get the point.”

“You’ll want to say your goodbyes.”

As Jaehyun came back into the room and took his chair again, he thought bitterly how he had never actually been the one to say goodbye before. Others left him, not the other way around. Then, a small hand slipped into his and he clutched at it. This was an end, and a beginning. This was one final parting before the rest of his life could begin. And so, he waited.

It came at 11 p.m. Each time the doctor came by to check, he seemed surprised at how persistent the old man was in surviving. Jaehyun thought it was only proper. Stubborn old bastard, just like he was in life. However, he couldn’t escape his fate forever. The old man took a breath, let it out, and simply never took another.

Jaehyun sighed and slumped forward, pushing the call button before burying his face in his hands. Arms wrapped around him from behind; he leaned into Jungwoo, taking strength and comfort from a love he had only just come to know while saying goodbye to another.


	22. The World Is Ours

Wong Property Management met its end without Lucas to lord over it, crashing in on itself rapidly and leaving every single employee without a job. Jaehyun had done what he could for them, hiring a few where he could, but he didn’t want the rest of them; they weren’t people who would work well with his current team. At least, that was what he told Jungwoo. 

As for Lucas himself… That trial had been almost too brief. The big, intimidating football player turned into a spineless coward when placed alone in an interrogation room with a police officer, admitting to every part of his crime. Jungwoo didn’t testify, partly because he didn’t need to and partly because he didn’t want to face that terrible man who pumped him so full of lies. Things were moving forward. There was no time to look back, which meant he was just relieved when the whole proceedings were over with. The monetary payout to compensate him for all he’d gone through was enough, although he didn’t even need that.

“I guess after all this time, I’m still just a trophy wife.”

Jaehyun looked up at him from where he sat on the other end of the couch, his paperwork spread out all over the cushions and the coffee table. “You think you’re just a pretty face, huh?”

Jungwoo shrugged his shoulders. “I’m still hanging on the arm of a wealthy man while he pays my way in the world.”

Shrugging playfully in return, Jaehyun replied, “When you get your degree and use your literary powers to start critiquing books and make money, you can buy me dinner for a change. In the meantime…” Jaehyun paused, looking up at the ceiling as he searched for words. “You’re special to me and I’m happy to do it, but it’s more than that. I’ve always wanted someone I can spoil and cherish. You are my rare little unicorn, after all.”

Jungwoo groaned, color rising up his cheeks as it always did when that damnable suit was brought to mind. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Don’t mention it. Does our relationship make me a sugar daddy?”

Jungwoo groaned even louder. “No way! You’re not that old yet.”

Jaehyun laughed and picked up another form from one of his many stacks. “Good to know.”

The way their lives had become so seamlessly intertwined still amazed Jungwoo. When he moved in with Lucas, he always felt pushed to the side, like the other was simply accommodating him. Now that he was with Jaehyun, he knew how it really felt to have his life blend with another’s. Their routine established itself quickly, as if they had always been meant to live together. And maybe they had.

Awareness crept up his spine, the knowledge that he was being watched. He calmly set his book aside and then turned his head to look at Jaehyun, who was openly staring. “What are you doing?”

“Marveling.”

Jungwoo shook his head and pretended to reach for his book again. His muscles tightened, bunched up, and he threw himself across the couch and landed directly in Jaehyun’s lap. Papers exploded up into the air, blown around the living room by the ceiling fan. 

All Jaehyun could do was sit there and watch as everything he so neatly organized went off in every direction. It would take hours to put everything all back in order again, especially because he hadn’t gotten around to stapling any of it.

Jungwoo grinned up into his stunned eyes. “Oops.”

Jaehyun growled and grabbed him around the shoulders, pulling him up higher in his lap and holding him tight so that he couldn’t go anywhere no matter how hard he struggled. “You little rascal! Look at what you did!”

Jungwoo beamed. “I am. Are you going to punish me for it?”

He laughed at the stunned look that crossed the other’s face. “What, you’re into that? Like… spanking?”

“Hell, no.” Jungwoo reached up and wrapped his arms around Jaehyun’s neck, feeling his groin start to burn and his cock stiffen. Hard pressure from beneath his ass told him he wasn’t the only one feeling playful. “So then, if you aren’t going to punish me for making a mess of your work, what are you going to do?”

_I suck at dirty talk. Good thing Jaehyun appreciates my efforts._

Judging from how quickly the bulge beneath him was lengthening, he appreciated it quite a bit. Keeping his grip firm, Jaehyun lowered his lips to Jungwoo’s and kissed him roughly. Jaehyun’s tongue pushed into his mouth, seeking out his own to rub against and play with. Jungwoo whimpered, tasting sweetness and heat, clutching at Jaehyun’s back and digging his nails into his skin.

When they finally parted, Jaehyun murmured to him, “How long do we have until dinner is ready?”

Perhaps Jungwoo’s favorite discovery was Jaehyun’s crockpot, an ancient gift given to him by someone a long time ago. Even the worst cook couldn’t screw up cooking dinner in a crockpot.

“Half an hour.”

“Plenty of time,” Jaehyun growled. He stood up with Jungwoo in his arms and carted him away to the bedroom. 

_Plenty of time,_ Jungwoo agreed. _Because now we have forever._

\- The End -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I liked the most about Jungwoo and Jaehyun? Their voice, visual, their attitudes, and actually a whole lot more.. Best roommates after all.
> 
> Thanks for you time :)


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